A hurricane closed her doctor's office - then her employer allegedly pulled the rug
A hurricane knocked out her doctor's office. What followed, the worker alleges, cost her a 15-year career at T-Mobile.
A federal complaint filed on October 22, 2026, in Tampa, Florida, claims the telecommunications company terminated a long-tenured employee after a chain of events triggered by a hurricane - and her disability.
The worker had been with T-Mobile for close to 15 years, joining as an Account Care Expert around January 2010, according to the filing. The complaint alleges she was qualified for her role and performing well throughout.
She also had a disability. The complaint does not name the condition but alleges she had "a mental and/or physical impairment that substantially limited one or more major life activities," and that T-Mobile knew about it.
In July 2024, she was approved for continuous FMLA leave - the federal protection for employees taking medical leave - and recertified that leave on a monthly basis, the filing states.
Then a hurricane hit.
In or around October 2024, the complaint states, the storm forced her physician's office to close. Her FMLA recertification paperwork could not be submitted on time. She explained the situation and asked for extra time to get the documents in - a reasonable accommodation, given the circumstances.
According to the complaint, T-Mobile disciplined her for medical absences instead.
By around December 2024, the worker was approved to work from home and take intermittent leave, the filing says. Those arrangements, the complaint alleges, would not have placed any undue burden on the company.
Then T-Mobile reversed course. In February 2025, according to the complaint, the company revoked the worker's accommodations and revoked previously approved leave dating back to November 2024.
The worker alleges she pushed back, telling T-Mobile it was applying its leave policies inconsistently and discriminating against her because of her disability. The complaint says the company "failed to take prompt or appropriate remedial action."
She was fired on or around February 5, 2025.
The complaint alleges T-Mobile terminated her because of her disability and in retaliation for speaking up. It calls the company's stated reason for the firing "pretext" - meaning, in employment law terms, a cover story for the real motivation.
The lawsuit brings four counts under both federal and state law: disability discrimination and retaliation under the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the same two claims under the Florida Civil Rights Act. The worker is seeking back pay, compensatory and punitive damages, reinstatement or front pay, and attorney's fees.
The complaint alleges T-Mobile acted "with malice and reckless disregard" for the worker's rights.
For HR teams, the sequence alleged here - approve, revoke, discipline, terminate - is the kind of pattern that generates federal lawsuits, particularly when a natural disaster creates a paperwork gap no employee could have prevented.
The allegations in this complaint have not been tested, and no court has made any findings or rulings in this matter.
