EEOC Sues Castle Hills Master Association and Parent Companies for Disability Discrimination

DALLAS - Castle Hills Master Association Inc., and parent companies Bright Realty LLC, Bright Industries LLC, and Bright Executive Services LLC, which manage several residential communities in the Dallas area, violated federal law when they fired a resident coordinator after she was hospitalized due to her pregnancy-related disability, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit filed today.

According to the EEOC's lawsuit, the pregnant resident coordinator was diagnosed with placenta previa, a condition that causes physical symptoms and limitations and makes a pregnancy high-risk. The resident coordinator notified the companies of her condition and the fact that it would necessitate delivery via cesarean section. About a month before her due date, she was hospitalized due to complications related to her condition. When her doctor ordered she be on bed rest until she gave birth, the employee notified her supervisor of her hospitalization and need for leave.

However, while still in the hospital, the property management companies notified her she was terminated, even though she would have been able to return to work as soon as she recovered from her disability-related cesarean section, the EEOC said. The property management companies told the employee it would not accommodate her because they do not provide leave outside of that covered under its short-term disability plan or the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA).

Such alleged conduct violates the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability, including pregnancy-related disabilities, and requires that employers provide reasonable accommodations for disabilities. The EEOC filed suit, Civil Action No. 4:24-cv-00871, in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, Sherman Division, after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settle­ment through its conciliation process. In this case, the EEOC seeks back pay damages, compensatory and punitive damages, and injunctive remedies, including an order requiring the company to create a policy providing reasonable accommodations for disabilities such bed rest.

"These property management companies fired our claimant in her most vulnerable moment," said Brooke López, trial attorney in the EEOC's Dallas District Office. "Rather than focus her attention on her well-being and the birth of her son, she was forced to find a new career."

EEOC Dallas District Regional Attorney Robert Canino said, "The ADA provides avenues to ensure that employees can continue to work with reasonable accommodations, which may include a medical leave. Terminating an employee who does not qualify for other leave policies such as the FMLA, as happened here, can be contrary to an employer's responsibilities under federal law."

For more information on disability discrimination, please visit www.eeoc.gov/disability-discrimination.

The Dallas District Office is responsible for processing charges of discrimination and conducting agency litigation for most of Texas and part of New Mexico.

EEOC advances opportunity in the workplace by enforcing federal laws prohibiting employ­ment discrimination. More information is available at www.eeoc.gov. Stay connected with the latest EEOC news by subscribing to our email updates.

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