An official is accusing the Broward County School Board of violating the Family and Medical Leave Act.
Nicole Mancini filed her lawsuit in federal court against the School Board of Broward County.
According to the complaint, Mancini served as the Chief Academic Officer for more than 23 years without any reprimands or performance issues.
Mancini claims she was forced to return early from a surgery due to work demands in October 2022. In January 2023, she was hospitalized due to stress-related blood pressure issues. Upon her doctor's advice, she requested FMLA leave on March 27, 2023.
Despite approval of her leave request on April 19, 2023, Mancini says she repeatedly was contacted for work-related issues during her leave. She also claims Interim Superintendent Earlean Smiley proposed the elimination of her position within weeks of her leave request. Although this proposal was rejected by the school board on May 2, 2023, Mancini's contract was non-renewed while she was on FMLA leave, effectively terminating her employment.
Mancini alleges that Smiley appointed a less qualified person to replace her and terminated her access privileges to multiple platforms and systems at the end of her FMLA leave.