He got the leave approved. The absences still counted against him, the lawsuit says
Wells Fargo approved a worker's medical leave - then fired him for using it, a new lawsuit claims.
That is the core of a complaint filed June 26 in Nevada federal court by a former branch operations coordinator at a Wells Fargo branch in Henderson. The dispute turns on two tasks that sit on every HR desk: disability accommodation and leave administration.
The worker has hypertension and myocarditis, serious heart conditions that, according to the complaint, caused chest pain, fainting, and high blood pressure - often in the mornings, before his shift. He says he disclosed them when he was hired in January 2024 and told every manager who supervised him.
A new manager arrived in early 2025, the filing says, acknowledged the connection between his conditions and his attendance, and told him to request leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act, the federal law that protects time off for serious health conditions. He did. The complaint states that Wells Fargo approved intermittent FMLA leave on or about October 16, 2025, retroactive to August 21 and running through July 29, 2026.
Then came the turn the case rests on. Even after the approval, the complaint alleges, the bank kept counting the protected absences against him and issued a formal warning in mid-November. It never started an "interactive process" or offered an accommodation, the filing says - the give-and-take the ADA expects between an employer and an employee about how to make a job work. On or about December 2, 2025, the complaint says, Wells Fargo terminated his employment on a "false and pretextual basis."
The real reasons, the worker alleges, were his disabilities and his protected activity - asking for accommodation and taking approved leave. He brings seven claims: disability discrimination and retaliation under both the ADA and Nevada law, two counts of failure to accommodate, and FMLA interference. The filing also alleges the conduct was "fraudulent" and carried out with "malice" and "oppression."
For HR leaders, the alleged pattern is the takeaway. Under the ADA and FMLA, approving leave is the start of the obligation, not the end of it. When warnings or attendance points pile up on dates already covered by approved intermittent leave, that approval can flip from shield to evidence. And skipping the interactive process - even when a worker has clearly raised a medical need - is one of the most common ways accommodation claims get traction.
The complaint says the worker dual-filed with the EEOC and the Nevada Equal Rights Commission on June 16, 2026, that the EEOC closed the charge without findings, and that it issued a right-to-sue notice on June 22, 2026. He is represented by Greenberg Gross LLP and seeks compensatory, liquidated, emotional distress, and punitive damages, along with attorneys' fees.
The allegations have not been tested, and no court has ruled on any of the claims.
