Manager sues K&L Gates over firing 32 days after disability leave

Between January and September 2025, Carter says she raised the issue with Johnson on at least four separate occasions, telling him the workplace was making her sick. The filing alleges he listened but did nothing meaningful about it. 

On September 10, 2025, Carter’s physician mandated she take leave. She applied for and was granted short-term disability leave through October 6, 2025, through the firm’s own third-party administrator. 

What allegedly happened when she came back is where HR leaders should pay close attention. Carter says Johnson immediately narrowed her role to just two projects — a Java licensing removal and a Windows 11 upgrade — cutting roughly 85 percent of her responsibilities. On October 31, she alleges he pulled her from a professional conference she had been registered to attend for at least six months, citing budget constraints. Then on November 7, an HR representative told her on a Microsoft Teams call that her position had been eliminated. She was offered four weeks’ severance. 

The suit calls that explanation pretextual. Carter had carried a full workload before her leave, regularly logged more than 50 hours a week, and had no performance issues on record. 

The case brings three claims under the Americans with Disabilities Act — discrimination, retaliation, and hostile work environment — and seeks compensatory and punitive damages, back pay, front pay, and reinstatement. No determination has been made on the merits of the case.