PALM BEACH — A woman claims she was subjected to employment discrimination for being harassed and unlawfully terminated by her employer due to her disability.
Plaintiff Gabrielle Bargoot filed a complaint on May 10, stating her former employer School District of Palm Beach "subjected its disabled employee to relentless harassment, discrimination and retaliation to force the employee’s unlawful termination in favor of employing what they incorrectly believed to be more able-bodied employees," and violated the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Bargoot, a disabled female, was hired by School District of Palm Beach in the spring of 2019 as a math teacher for gifted and exceptional students in sixth grade beginning August 2019. Bargoot was hired into the position with a bachelor's degree from Florida Atlantic University, a master’s degree from Boston University in Education with a concentration in Applied Human Development, multiple professional certificates and two years of experience in the teaching field.
Bargoot suffers from dysautonomia, "an illness of the autonomic Nervous System" that includes symptoms "dizziness, fainting, difficulty with balance, noise/light sensitivity, chest pain/discomfort, uncontrolled body temperature, uncontrolled tiredness, nauseous and vomiting."
According to the complaint, on Sept. 6, 2019, Bargoot fainted several times on campus and was rushed to the emergency room. In or around October or November, Bargoot's mother called the School District of Palm Beach to discuss Bargoot's condition and restrictions in returning to work.
On Nov. 11, 2019, Bargoot fainted again during a Professional Development Day. Bargoot alleges that after coming to, she was confronted by Denise O'Connor who requested a meeting to discuss “what to do about these incidents,” then took no action to schedule meeting. Bargoot requested "reasonable accommodations" from O'Conner for her disability in November of 2019, and faxed the request on December 2, 2019. The same day, Bargoot suffered a concussion and temporary memory loss after being struck by a student's iPad and was taken for emergency medical attention.
Bargoot's mother later contacted Shadrika Taylor and Kareem Thompson to discuss Bargoot's condition and get an incident report. Thompson allegedly assured Bargoot's mother O'Connor would be notified about the incident and be provided Bargoot with an emailed incident report.
Bargoot was scheduled for a standard performance evaluation with O'Connor on Dec. 3, 2019, in which a "Do Not Disturb" sign was posted. Bargoot rescheduled and on Dec. 6, 2019, after a post-evaluation meeting and refusal for O'Connor to implement requested accommodations, Bargoot fainted again. Bargoot was notified on Dec. 11, 2019 of her termination, the suit says.
Bargoot seeks "economic damages, lost wages (back pay and front pay) and benefits, liquidated damages, statutory damages, compensatory damages, emotional distress damages, punitive damages, interest, attorney’s fees and costs, disbursements of action" against the School District of Palm Beach . Bargoot is represented by Derek Smith Law Group, PLLC.
Southern District of Florida Case 9:21-cv-80849-DMM