Tamara Jordon vs. City of New York

Case Background

On June 13, 2023, Plaintiff Tamara Jordon filed an ADA Retaliation lawsuit in the United States District Court, New York Southern (Foley Square) [Case number: 1:23cv4962]. Judge Denise L. Cote presided over this case.

Cause

A seasoned attorney and hearing officer, Tamara Jordan experienced persistent workplace discrimination at the Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings (OATH) in New York City. Jordan, who suffered from a debilitating kidney condition causing fatigue, cramping, and nerve pain, underwent surgery in December 2018 to remove a mass. Upon her return, she requested a medical accommodation to adjust her work hours. Although OATH initially granted her request, the environment changed when she resumed work in February 2019. Supervisors assigned her cases late in the day, forcing her to work overtime and disrupting her personal life. During the early COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, OATH exposed Jordan to unsafe conditions, requiring her to interact closely with litigants and colleagues without providing personal protective equipment. Jordan repeatedly raised concerns about her vulnerability to the virus and requested remote work. While OATH granted remote work to 32 other hearing officers, it denied her request and placed her on unpaid leave from March to December 2020. This mistreatment escalated after Jordan filed an EEOC complaint in January 2021, as management scrutinized her work, increased her caseload, and continued assigning her complex cases