ST. LOUIS – The question of whether Missouri Home Therapy LLC violated the Americans with Disabilities Act when it terminated Latonia Mann over alleged substance abuse was raised in her lawsuit against the company filed in the U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Missouri for the Eastern District.
Mann alleged Missouri Home Therapy infringed on her rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act when the company fired her the same day she informed it “she was in a qualified, supervised rehabilitation program under a doctor’s care with a prescription for methadone” in September 2014, according to the lawsuit, which was filed June 27.
The suit states Missouri Home Therapy said it terminated Mann because she tested positive for heroin. Mann alleges she was not using illegal drugs at the time. She said she is a person with a disability considering the program she was in and the prescription. The suit states Missouri Home Therapy's owners informed her she tested positive for opiates the day she was fired and said methadone is the same as heroin.
Mann alleged her explanation about the drug didn’t help as Missouri Home Therapy erroneously perceived her to be an addict. She alleged she was let go because of her disability and the company’s perception of it. The suit states the defendant never made any complaints about her work.
She requested the court award her all losses and damages she experienced because of the defendant’s decision to fire her. She also asked for compensatory and punitive damages, past and future retirement income as well as any other monetary advantages she would have received had she not been terminated. She asked to be given her job back or be paid for five years.
Mann also requested she be awarded prejudgment interest on lost wages and employment benefits, and a tax component that would help offset a lump sum payment she’d receive. Mann also asked for attorney’s fees and legal costs.