01-22-2026
Former New York City Department of Social Services (DSS) employee Sally Ramirez sued the agency for disability discrimination pursuant to the ADA and hostile work environment claims for race, age, and retaliation. She alleged her supervisor made derogatory comments about “Guyanese people” and older employees. Ramirez was of Guyanese and Indian descent (as was her supervisor).
Ramirez applied for a promotion but was not selected for the position. After being denied the promotion, Ramirez alleged she became ill and requested leave under the FMLA. DSS initially granted her request to work from home as an accommodation, but after she filed a discrimination lawsuit, DSS refused to extend her work-from-home accommodation asserting that she could not perform all the essential duties of her position.
A New York federal district court dismissed Ramirez’s disability discrimination claim, as she could not show that DSS’s denial of her work-from-home accommodation was related to her disability. Ramirez did not allege any facts to establish that DSS ordered her to return to work because of her disability, and to successfully assert a disability claim, the adverse employment action must be based on the employee’s disability. DSS had offered alternative accommodations, including a hybrid schedule that allowed her to work from home for three days a week. Further, when working in the office, DSS offered Ramirez additional breaks, ergonomic equipment, and the “use of Access-A-Ride buses” to help her commute as further accommodations.
Takeaways: It is recommended that employers engage in an interactive process with employees to provide reasonable accommodations, but they are not necessarily required to provide the specific accommodation sought by the employee.