Sandra Clark says she came back from medical leave and walked straight into a coaching
A senior writer says her return from medical leave at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia ended in forced retirement. Her lawsuit puts HR's playbook on trial.
A 66-year-old former senior writer at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia has sued the hospital, alleging it pushed her out after she took medical leave and asked for accommodations.
Sandra Clark filed her complaint on May 4, 2026, in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. She brings claims under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act, and the Philadelphia Fair Practices Ordinance.
Clark joined the hospital in July 2023 as Senior Writer in Donor Relations. The complaint says she has ADHD, generalized anxiety disorder, and thyroid issues. Early on, she alleges, her then-supervisor Karen Hamilton told her she was "exceeding expectations" or words to that effect when Clark asked about edits to her work.
Clark also says Hamilton told her she would be expected to write two stewardship impact reports in her first year. The hospital, the complaint states, had her draft nine.
In January 2024, the filing says, a new supervisor stepped in - Saifa Al-Sadoon, Senior Associate Director of International Advancement. Clark alleges Al-Sadoon was "constantly nitpicking" her work and complained that Clark "couldn't write well" or words to that effect.
By November 2024, Clark says, the stress had caught up with her. She requested FMLA leave on November 18, 2024, and went out on short-term disability and FMLA leave through February 10, 2025. On February 4, 2025, her psychiatrist submitted formal accommodation requests on her behalf - remote work as needed, written instructions, training, and help with time management.
What happened next is the heart of the case for HR readers.
Clark returned to work on February 13, 2025. That same day, the complaint states, Al-Sadoon and Hamilton told her she would be placed on a 60-day Performance Coaching Plan. The formal plan landed on February 24.
The day before her return, Clark says, she had emailed an internal complaint to two staffers in the hospital's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion department, asking for help with her accommodations and the coaching plan. According to the filing, the DEI team did not meet with her until early March - about two weeks into the coaching plan. When they did meet, the complaint alleges, DEI staff included Hamilton and Al-Sadoon without giving Clark prior notice. The filing alleges DEI staff "were coordinating with Hamilton and Al-Sadoon instead of Plaintiff."
On March 20, 2025, Al-Sadoon, Hamilton, and a senior HR business partner told Clark her accommodation requests were approved, the complaint states. But Clark alleges she "did not receive help implementing her requested accommodations."
The day after the coaching plan ended, on April 21, 2025, Al-Sadoon placed Clark on a Performance Improvement Plan, according to the filing. The PIP required her to write "with minimal edits" or words to that effect - a standard the complaint describes as subjective and designed to set her up for failure.
On May 29, 2025, Clark emailed notice of her retirement, effective June 5. She was 66. She alleges the hospital constructively discharged her.
For HR leaders, the filing reads as a sequence of decisions to scrutinize. A return-to-work meeting that doubles as a performance-management meeting. A coaching plan that rolls straight into a PIP. An accommodation approval that, the complaint alleges, came without follow-through. An internal DEI complaint that, Clark says, ended up in front of the very managers she was complaining about. Each step, in isolation, can be defended. Strung together, they form the spine of Clark's case.
The allegations have not been tested in court. Children's Hospital of Philadelphia has not yet filed a response, and no court has ruled.
