The U.S. Department of Justice on Tuesday filed a lawsuit against the West Memphis School District for denying a disabled teacher’s request to temporarily work remotely in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The complaint filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas accuses the school district of denying Chloe Cox’s request without discussing it or considering alternative accommodations. As a result, Cox was forced to resign from her position as a science curriculum specialist at Wonder Jr. High School. She had worked for the district since 2004.
Cox had a higher risk of serious illness from COVID-19 due to asthma and obesity, according to the lawsuit. By not providing reasonable accommodations for her condition, the school district allegedly violated the Americans With Disabilities Act. The lawsuit seeks compensatory damages for Cox and for her to be reinstated with back pay, with interest.
Cox asked the West Memphis School District to work remotely when Arkansas returned to in-person school instruction in August 2020, according to the lawsuit. But the district denied her request and Cox went on leave when classes began.
She later provided the district a letter from a medical provider stating that she should avoid social contact to prevent COVID-19 exposure. The district allegedly replied, “WMSD is not allowing any personnel to work from home at this time.”
After Cox’s attorney contacted the district, the principal of Wonder Jr. High School proposed accommodations such as Cox arriving to school and going straight to her office without any contact; leaving school early to avoid student or teacher contact; having no contact with any students while on the school site; and doing all of her interactive job functions via Zoom. But the district never offered those accommodations to Cox.
She resigned on Aug. 21 after using all of her paid leave. In a letter to the district superintendent, she said she had to choose between her job and her health. Cox filed a complaint a few months later with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which referred the case to the Justice Department.
In a statement, Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke said, “Telework is an important tool that has increased the ability of many people with disabilities to become or remain employed. “Employers must have a process in place to reasonably accommodate workers with disabilities, and they must work with those employees to consider options, including telework.”
The school district had not filed a response to the lawsuit Wednesday.
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