An organization that offers legal services to poor and underage defendants has failed to secure a quick win in a case in Pennsylvania federal court, where it faces allegations that it violated federal law by terminating an attorney found to have mental health problems rather than transfer her to another role.

U.S. District Judge Cynthia Rufe denied the motion to dismiss sought by the Defender Association of Philadelphia, deciding that at the present stage of the case, she must give more weight to the contention by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. That argument said Megan Perez was not seeking an indefinite leave of absence, according to Thursday's memorandum in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

The Defender Association said in its July bid to toss the case that while it had granted requests for leave from Perez, the open-ended nature of her return amounted to a request for "indefinite leave" that would have created a "tremendous hardship" for the organization.

While a note from her therapist appears to use open-ended language in relation to when Perez could return to work, it must be interpreted in the employee's favor and balanced by statements by Perez to her employer that she was looking forward to returning to work in January 2018, according to Thursday's memorandum.

"Viewed in the light most favorable to Perez, as it must be at this stage, the statement supports the allegation that Perez was planning to return to work in January 2018 and that the therapist was only sounding a note of caution," the opinion reads. "Perez herself alleges that she repeatedly assured the Defender Association that she would be returning to work in January 2018."

Perez suffered from major depressive disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder triggered in part by her work defending juveniles involved in sex-based criminal cases, according to the EEOC's April complaint.

Perez took a leave of absence in July 2017 under the Family and Medical Leave Act, later extending her time away under long-term disability benefits, according to the complaint. She intended to return to the Defender Association in January 2018, but while one set of supervisors initially agreed to transfer her to another role, two individuals from the organization's human resources department opted to terminate her in December 2017, according to the EEOC.

The commission wants the court to order the Defender Association to pay Perez an unspecified amount of back pay and prejudgment interest, to reinstate her, to implement non-discriminatory practices and policies, and to  bar it permanently from violating the ADA, according to the complaint.

Counsel for the parties could not be reached for comment on Friday.

The EEOC is represented by Debra M. Lawrence, Maria L. Morocco and Joshua E. Zugerman.

The Defender Association of Philadelphia is represented by Richard R. Harris, Jonathan L. Shaw and Janice Sued Agresti of Littler Mendelson PC.

The case is Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Defender Association of Philadelphia, case number 2:19-cv-01803, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

--Additional reporting by Vin Gurrieri. Editing by Peter  Rozovsky.