He says he had approved FMLA leave - then HR started asking about old absences
A former Subaru of Indiana Automotive employee says the automaker fired him for using approved disability leave - days after he tried to file an internal complaint.
Tate Compton filed the lawsuit on May 8, 2026, in the US District Court for the Northern District of Indiana. He worked at the company for roughly five years, starting as a temporary employee in or about June 2020 and converting to a full-time Associate in or about May 2021. He has narcolepsy.
To manage the condition, Compton says he took prescribed medication daily at around 4 a.m. and 10:20 a.m. and napped during his lunch period. The company knew about the medication schedule, the complaint says, and approved his request for intermittent FMLA leave in or about March 2025. He used that leave between March and July 2025 for reasons including brain fog and fatigue, running out of medication, and brief pauses in his medication ahead of other prescribed treatment.
Then, according to the filing, HR began asking questions.
On or about July 15, 2025, two HR employees - identified in the complaint as "Logan" (last name unknown) and Associate Relations specialist Christina Whitley - questioned Compton about absences from two months earlier. He says he told them he had just taken his medication, had just woken from his nap, and was not in the right state of mind to answer. He asked for time to respond.
That request was denied, the complaint says. Compton alleges HR did not engage in the interactive process - the give-and-take the ADA requires when an employee asks for an accommodation. He says he offered to provide doctor's notes for the May 2025 absences and that the company refused. He emailed Whitley later that day with disability-related explanations.
Two days later, on or about July 17, 2025, Compton says he asked Whitley for a fair treatment complaint form so he could formally complain about disability discrimination and FMLA retaliation. Instead of the form, the complaint says, he was walked into a meeting with Whitley and Production Manager Sherri Nordyke.
In that meeting, according to the filing, Compton told the two managers that a Group Leader had bragged the company was weeding out employees who used FMLA. He says he raised harassment over his disability- and FMLA-related leave. The complaint alleges Nordyke interrupted him, told him he was not being harassed, and said he simply could not handle friendly banter. Compton says the complaint form never came.
He was fired on or about July 24, 2025 - nine days after the first HR meeting and seven days after he tried to file an internal complaint. The complaint says he had no warning his job was in trouble.
Compton brings four claims: failure to accommodate under the ADA, disability discrimination under the ADA, ADA retaliation, and interference and retaliation under the FMLA. He filed a charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and received a right-to-sue notice before filing suit. He is asking for lost wages and benefits, reinstatement or front pay, compensatory and punitive damages, liquidated damages, interest, and attorneys' fees.
The sequence in the complaint is one HR readers will recognize. An approved accommodation. A sudden look back at old absences. A denied request for time. A blocked internal complaint. A termination days later. Whether or not the allegations hold, the filing names HR by role and by name and puts the function's handling of accommodations, the interactive process, and internal complaints under the microscope.
The allegations have not been tested in court. Subaru of Indiana Automotive has not yet filed a response, and no court has ruled.
