(The Associated Press circulated the following on March 20.)
NEW YORK — An Omaha woman has filed a federal lawsuit against Union Pacific Railroad, saying the company discriminated against her because of her disability, race and gender.
Kimberly Norman, who is black, said in the lawsuit filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court that she was hired by Union Pacific in September 1998 and was fired in January 2006, even though she performed her job as a train dispatcher in an exemplary manner.
The lawsuit says that following difficult pregnancies in 2002 and 2003, Norman began suffering from irritable bowel syndrome. She was hospitalized for the condition in April 2004, and was told by a supervisor that she had too many absences, according to the lawsuit.
In May of that year, the lawsuit says, Union Pacific placed Norman on unpaid leave and required her to submit to an independent medical examination.
Norman’s lawyers say that unbeknownst to her, the examination was a mental health exam, and that Union Pacific used the exam to change her diagnosis and disability.
“It is our belief that Union Pacific used a medical examiner to claim that she had a mental health diagnosis that did not exist. What she had was a purely physical issue,” said Craig Howell of Omaha, Norman’s attorney.
Based on the mental health diagnosis, Norman’s long-term disability benefits were terminated, reinstated upon her appeal, then terminated again, the lawsuit said.
The lawsuit also says the railroad refused to make reasonable accommodations for her disability and denied her the opportunity to interview for other positions, while allowing such accommodations for white, male employees.
The Nebraska Equal Opportunity Commission, which reviewed Norman’s complaint, determined there was no cause to fire her, and the federal EOC gave her the green light to sue in December, the lawsuit says.
Norman is seeking damages for lost wages and benefits, as well as an award of punitive damages, Howell said.
Union Pacific officials had not received the lawsuit by Thursday afternoon, said spokesman Mark Davis.
“We take these allegations very seriously, and we’ll be reviewing the lawsuit when we receive it,” Davis said.