Prince George's County sued for disability discrimination and retaliation

Complaint alleges the County terminated a disabled employee 10 days after she filed a written discrimination complaint with Human Resources.

BOWIE, MD, UNITED STATES, May 11, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Civil rights law firm Justly Prudent announced the filing of discrimination lawsuit on behalf of Aisha Walker against Prince George's County, Maryland, in the Circuit Court of Maryland for Prince George's County. The Complaint alleges disability discrimination, failure to accommodate, retaliation, and hostile work environment in violation of the Maryland Fair Employment Practices Act and the Prince George's County Code.

According to the Complaint, Walker was hired in December 2023 as an Administrative Aide II in the County's Department of Permitting, Inspections and Enforcement. The Complaint states that Walker has been diagnosed with Graves' disease, an autoimmune thyroid disorder, and that she sustained cervical and lumbar injuries in a March 2024 motor vehicle accident. Walker disclosed her autoimmune condition before she was hired and submitted formal accommodation requests to the County beginning in late March 2024, supported by documentation from her treating providers.

The Complaint alleges that the recommended accommodations included a sit-stand desk and ergonomic chair, the ability to take breaks as needed, transfer or reassignment to a different position to reduce stress, telework during flare-ups of the autoimmune condition, and a leave of absence if accommodations could not be provided. According to the Complaint, the County did not provide any of the requested accommodations and did not complete the interactive accommodation process the County initiated in April 2024.

The Complaint further alleges that, after Walker submitted feedback on a 90-day onboarding survey and began the accommodation process in late March 2024, her supervisors required her to submit detailed daily work logs not required of her colleagues, monitored her telephone calls on a back-to-back basis, denied her access to a customer-tracking system used by her colleagues, and limited her opportunities for hands-on training that her colleagues regularly received. Walker even overheard her first-line supervisor make a remark to the County's Human Resources liaison about the time required for Walker to recover from her motor vehicle accident injuries.

Walker submitted an informal complaint of discrimination to her second-level supervisor in approximately June 2024, raised concerns to the County's Americans with Disabilities Act coordinator on multiple occasions, and submitted a written complaint of discrimination, hostile work environment, and harassment to a Human Resources representative on July 23, 2024. Just 10 days later, according to the Complaint, the County: (a) issued a Notice of Termination to Walker; (b) placed her on administrative leave effective immediately; and (c) terminated her employment effective August 9, 2024. The Complaint alleges that Walker received no formal written discipline, no performance improvement plan, and no documented warning at any point during her employment. Walker alleges that the County's stated reasons for the termination are pretextual.

"Aisha Walker did everything an employee is supposed to do. She disclosed her conditions, she submitted medical documentation, she followed the County's accommodation process, and when that process broke down, she reported what was happening through proper internal channels," said Managing Attorney Jordan D. Howlette. "The County's response was to refuse every accommodation she requested, intensify the scrutiny applied to her alone, and fire her ten days after her written complaint reached Human Resources. This lawsuit is about restoring what the County took from her and ensuring that no other disabled employee is treated this way."

Walker seeks, among other things, back pay, front pay or reinstatement, and compensatory damages for the harm she suffered. The case is Aisha Walker v. Prince George's County, Maryland (Case No. C-16-CV-26-002796), filed in the Circuit Court of Maryland for Prince George's County.

Lars Kroner
Justly Prudent
+1 202-921-6080
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