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Law360 (September 23, 2020, 8:26 PM EDT) -- A former vice president at a City National Bank location claims in a lawsuit filed Tuesday in Los Angeles Superior Court that she was fired for taking too long to recover from fibromyalgia and other health problems because of treatment delays caused by COVID-19.
Marina Greenberg said the bank initially accommodated her disability but then terminated her in July after her physician extended her medical leave through September.
"Due to the [COVID-19] pandemic, plaintiff was unable to receive all the recommended treatments," Greenberg said in her suit.
Defendant City National Corporation is a subsidiary of the Royal Bank of Canada and operates City National Bank, which, according to its website, has 74 locations in Southern California, the San Francisco Bay Area, Nevada, New York City, Nashville, Atlanta, Minneapolis, Washington, D.C., and Miami.
Greenberg said in her lawsuit that she was hired May 29, 2018, at the bank's Sherman Oaks location in Los Angeles as a vice president and private banker. At the time, Greenberg was 43 years old and "highly sought after in the private banking industry" after being recruited by City National Corporation, Greenberg said.
She earned a signing bonus of $50,000, started at a salary of $13,750 per month with benefits and was offered a performance-based $30,000 bonus to be paid in December 2018, according to the lawsuit.
In November 2018, Greenberg "started suffering from symptoms including difficulty breathing and swallowing, loss of appetite, severe pain in her left hip and irritation in her eyes," according to the lawsuit, which added that her doctor diagnosed fibromyalgia and a hip injury.
Greenberg said that despite the medical problems she was able to continue to work and received a positive performance evaluation along with her $30,000 bonus in December 2018. But in December 2019, after becoming "depressed and anxious" because of the onset of her medical condition, Greenberg was placed on medical leave, according to the lawsuit.
Although her Family and Medical Leave Act rights were exhausted in March, City National Corporation extended her leave until April 1, Greenberg said. But when her doctor again extended her leave until June 30 of that year, City National Corporation sent her a letter in May stating she must return to work by July 1 or else risk being fired, according to the suit.
In June, Greenberg's doctor extended her leave through Sept. 1, and she was terminated with an effective date of July 16, Greenberg said.
"Based on information and belief, despite the representations stated in the May 28, 2020, letter, defendant did not move forward with filling plaintiff's position," Greenberg said. "Furthermore, it is hereby alleged that extending plaintiff's medical leave to Sept. 1, 2020, would not have caused an undue hardship on the defendant."
The lawsuit includes causes of action for failing to accommodate her disability, failure to engage in an interactive process and discrimination on the basis of disability.
City National Corporation and counsel for Greenberg did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Greenberg is represented by Joseph Y. Avrahamy.
Counsel for City National Corporation could not immediately be identified.
The case is Marina Greenberg v. City National Corp., case number 20STCV36084, in the Superior Court for the State of California for the County of Los Angeles.
--Editing by Peter Rozovsky.
For a reprint of this article, please contact reprints@law360.com.
