She says the basement cubicle was just the start - then the merit raise hit
A former University of Pennsylvania finance director says she was sidelined, denied a basic accommodation, and pushed out because she is Black.
Marille Heallis filed a lawsuit on May 13, 2026 in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, accusing the Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania of race and disability discrimination and retaliation. The claims rest on Title VII, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act, and the Philadelphia Fair Practices Ordinance.
The case lays out a pattern that HR leaders will recognize - title disparity, a delayed accommodation, a thin "redundancy" rationale - all in one filing against a major university employer.
Heallis was hired in November 2023 as Assistant Director of Finance and Administration. According to the complaint, roughly four other directors on her team carried the title of Associate Director. So did her Hispanic predecessor, who, the filing states, did the same job tasks. Heallis, who is African American, says she was the only person in leadership in her office not given the higher title.
Her direct supervisor was Maureen O'Leary, Associate Vice Provost for Research, Environmental Health, and Radiation Safety. The complaint alleges colleagues warned Heallis that African American women had a very high turnover rate under O'Leary, and that every Black woman who worked under her during her four-year tenure either transferred out or quit.
Then came the workspace. Heallis says she was placed in a basement cubicle with no air ventilation or windows, while every other director - all Caucasian - had a private office. Her job involved confidential information, so she says she had to hunt for private space elsewhere to take calls and meetings. After she complained to Lead Human Resources contact Ufuoma Pela in December 2023, the filing states it took more than three months before she was given an office.
The disability piece followed the same arc. Heallis has asthma. According to the complaint, she took three short medical leaves between November 2023 and January 2024, and then asked in late January 2024 to work from home one day a week as a reasonable accommodation. The filing states Caucasian directors already worked from home as they pleased, and that Heallis's team was the only one O'Leary required onsite every day.
The request, routed through the Office of Affirmative Action, took three months to approve. The complaint says Heallis met with Jennifer Rappaport of that office on April 29, 2024, and was told in May 2024 that approval would come - but only for a two-month period, even though her asthma is ongoing.
Around the same time, the filing alleges, O'Leary brought a Caucasian employee, Amanda Barber, onto the team to report to Heallis, and wrote Barber's job description to cover some of Heallis's own duties. The complaint says several employees expressed concern to Heallis that O'Leary was grooming Barber to take over her role.
Money was the next flashpoint. The complaint states the office average raise was typically 3.5%, drawn from a fixed pool. Heallis received 2%, the lowest in the office. Others received between 3.2% and 4.4%. Barber, who had just started, received the top raise at 4.4%. After Heallis complained, Pela lifted her percentage to the baseline in June 2024.
In September 2024, Heallis was called into a meeting with her new supervisor, Amy Collins, and Pela. The filing states she was told her position would be eliminated as of October 4, 2024, citing "redundancy" in positions and tasks. The complaint alleges Barber - her former subordinate - then took over Heallis's remaining duties. Shakia Williams, an African American colleague who had transferred with Heallis, was terminated the same day and replaced by a Caucasian employee, according to the filing. The complaint says no other employees were terminated at that time for job elimination or redundancy.
Heallis is seeking compensatory and punitive damages, attorneys' fees, and an injunction requiring the university to implement training and policies that provide equal employment opportunities.
The allegations have not been tested in court. The University of Pennsylvania has not yet filed a response, and no court has ruled on the claims.
