Monica Alvarez, a former Campbell’s Soup Company employee, alleged in a complaint filed last week that the company wrongfully fired her for allegedly answering a survey regarding possible exposure to COVID-19 with false information, which she claimed was not the case.
In the filing, Alvarez accused the company, specifically Campbell’s Snacks which Campbell’s does business as, of violating the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, and the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act.
The plaintiff worked for the company beginning in 2005 as a packer, machine operator, and packaging technician. She said that she “was well qualified for her position and performed well.” However, she was fired after allegedly providing false information on a COVID-19 screening survey when she claimed that she answered the questions correctly and had not reason to believe she had been exposed to COVID-19.
Reportedly, the Plaintiffs’ mother, who she lives with, was being treated for health issues at a hospital and the plaintiff had been told that her mother “most likely did not have COVID-19 due to the results of her CT scan” but she was given a COVID-19 test as a precaution. On the next day the plaintiff reported to work and marked that she had not come into contact with someone who had tested positive and that no one in her household had had specific symptoms of COVID-19.
Following that work day, and the next work day when she took as a personal day, Alvarez learned that her mother had tested positive for COVID-19 and she later tested positive as well. Additionally, the plaintiff noted that her mother had been suffering from body aches, however, the screening question did not list body aches in the question about symptoms of family members.
The plaintiff reported that she immediately called human resources to alert them of her mother’s positive COVID-19 test and quarantined for the 14 days as Campbell’s directed, and also alerted them when she received a positive COVID-19 test. However, she was not contacted about a return to work and her calls were not returned as she expected. Later, she received a call telling her that she was fired for not answering the screening questions correctly. The plaintiff purported that this was discrimination against her due to her COVID-19 diagnosis.
Alvarez cited that she exhausted her administrative remedies and was issued a notice that she had a right to sue by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in May 2021. The plaintiff noted that the complaint was filed within 90 days of when she received that document.
Alvarez is represented by Koller Law LLC.
