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A woman is suing her former Hendricks County employer, claiming the Avon company allegedly fired her because of her disability.
The lawsuit was filed on Dec. 11 in Hendricks Superior Court.
It lists Tracy Dickey as a plaintiff and The Weston School and its parent company, ABC’s & 123’s Inc., as the defendant.
The Weston School is an early childhood education organization with locations around the Indianapolis region.
Dickey is represented by Natalie Dickey of HKM Employment Attorneys LLP. She declined to comment on the litigation on behalf of her client.
The Weston School and Dana Query, director of business operations for the school, did not immediately respond to The Indiana Lawyer’s voicemail and email requests for comment.
According to the lawsuit, Dickey acted as director of the company’s Avon location from December 2019 until she was terminated in May 2024.
In October 2023, she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, which could cause episodic flare-ups and required regular medical appointments.
In November 2023, Dickey requested and was approved for intermittent leave under the Family Medical Leave Act as an accommodation for her disability.
The following April, she was on her way to work when she experienced a debilitating flare-up and notified her supervisor and HR director that she would be using an FMLA day. Due to the severity of her symptoms, she took a full week off, according to the lawsuit.
Upon returning to work, Dickey alleged that her supervisor treated her poorly, barely acknowledging her and undermining her in front of subordinates.
On May 1, the supervisor placed Dickey on a performance review plan, saying her work performance had been declining.
Dickey said that before going on FMLA leave, she had no reason to believe her job was in jeopardy and asked her supervisor if the alleged poor performance was due to her taking disability leave.
She also told her supervisor that she believed that the performance metrics being imposed upon her were confusing, impossible to meet, and were being used to push her out of her job because of her disability.
On May 6, the supervisor terminated Dickey from her position.
Dickey believes she was discriminated against due to her disability.
She is suing defendants for violating FMLA and for failure to accommodate, disability discrimination, and disability retaliation under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The case is Tracy Dickey v. ABC’s & 123’s, Inc. d/b/a The Weston School, 32D01-2512-PL-000182.
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