Labor & Employment Law Daily Wrap Up, DISCRIMINATION—DISABILITY—3d Cir.: Diabetic employee, fired for allegedly sleeping on job, failed to show discrimination, (Jul 21, 2026)

By Jason Albright, J.D.

She worked the midnight shift at a hospital in western Pennsylvania doing CAT scans.

A diabetic hospital employee, fired by West Penn Allegheny Health System after she was reported for allegedly sleeping on duty, failed to establish disability discrimination or FMLA interference, the Third Circuit affirmed. Though she denied sleeping, the employee said she “might have shut [her] eyes” to alleviate dry eye caused by a change in her diabetes medication, and emailed her manager a statement that she was “praying” for improvement and adjusting her medication, she never asked for a disability accommodation or medical leave. The federal appeals court also imposed sanctions against her attorney for, among other things, submitting a motion that included misquotations (Hileman v. West Penn Allegheny Health System Inc., No. 25-1459 (3d Cir. July 20, 2026)).

Midnight shift. The employee, according to the court, worked the midnight shift at Forbes Hospital, a part of West Penn Allegheny Health System, doing CAT scans.

First reprimand. About a year into her job, she was reprimanded for calling out of work too often. The reprimand form also advised her how to request disability accommodation or medical leave. She did not ask for either, however.

Reported by coworker. Five months later, in July 2022, a coworker reported the employee for allegedly sleeping on duty, texting during work, and failing to stock rooms. Though the coworker “d[id] not know for a fact... if [[the plaintiff]] [wa]s truly sleeping or not,” she raised “major concerns” that she was “nodding off multiple times in one shift” and believed “she [wa]s truly sleeping.”

Hospital policy, in turn, forbade sleeping on duty or positioning oneself to sleep, warning employees that it could result in termination.

Investigation. The employee’s manager started an investigation. Less than two weeks after the incident, he met with her to discuss the accusation and get her side of the story.

“[M]ight have shut [her] eyes.” She denied sleeping but admitted that she “might have shut [her] eyes” to alleviate dry eye caused by a change in her diabetes medication that was also causing fatigue.

That was the first time, however, that she disclosed her diabetes, with which she had been diagnosed prior to starting her job.

“[P]raying…” Though she later emailed the manager a statement that she was “praying” for improvement and adjusting her medication, she did not request a disability accommodation or medical leave.

Soon thereafter, West Penn fired her for misconduct.

Lawsuit and decision below. The employee sued West Penn, alleging disability discrimination, failure to accommodate, retaliation, and wrongful termination under the ADA and the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act (PHRA), as well as FMLA interference. The district court, in turn, granted the hospital summary judgment, finding the employee was fired for misconduct and never asked for either reasonable accommodation or leave before the investigation, if at all.

Sanctions. Affirming, the appeals court first denied the employee’s motion to supplement the record and imposed sanctions against her attorney. The attorney’s motion to supplement, the appeals court noted, “includes misquotations. We cannot tell if they were hallucinations by artificial intelligence, since they cite real cases about the same subject.” In any event, the court found this serious, the attorney had engaged in misconduct before a court in the Third Circuit before, and the attorney still awaits the outcome of other sanctions hearings. “One incident may be a mistake; two or three is a pattern.”

In view of the attorney’s past misconduct, the appeals court noted, it had ordered him to show cause why he should not be sanctioned for submitting a motion containing misquotations. And in response, “he simply explained that he did not check after a law clerk prepared the document.” Finding this response insufficient to foreclose sanctions, the Third Circuit ordered the attorney to reimburse West Penn for the attorney fees it spent “to respond to his antics,” specifically $14,636.50, which, the court noted, he may not bill to the plaintiff.

Disability discrimination and FMLA interference. Affirming summary judgment against the employee’s claims on the merits, the Third Circuit first observed that, to claim a failure to provide a disability accommodation under the ADA or PHRA, an employee must first show that her employer knew that she needed reasonable accommodation yet failed to provide it. Likewise, before taking a “foreseeable” medical leave, an employee must ask for it and give her employer at least 30 days’ notice (or “such notice as is practicable”). 29 U.S.C. § 2612(e)(1); 29 C.F.R. § 825.302(a), (c).

Here, the employee never asked for an accommodation, or for leave. Nor did she give reasonable notice. “Indeed, the first time she mentioned her diabetes and medication-related problems,” the appeals court noted, “was when her supervisor confronted her for sleeping on the job. Even then, she never suggested an accommodation—she simply asked if there was ‘anything [she could] do’ to make things right and told her manager that she was ‘praying’ and adjusting her medication, but maintained that she had never fallen asleep on the job.” There was nothing, the court observed, for the hospital to accommodate.

Too late. And even if she had made out a prima facie case of discrimination, the Third Circuit noted, the hospital offered a legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason for firing her: misconduct. She, in turn, offered no evidence to suggest that she was instead fired for her medical condition. “When an employee is about to be fired for misconduct,” the appeals court underscored, “she cannot save her job by belatedly telling her employer about a disability or medical need.”

The case is No. 25-1459.

Judge: Bibas, S.

Attorneys: Joshua Ward (Law Offices of Joshua Ward) for Cheryl Hileman. Ted A. Hages (Reed Smith) for West Penn Allegheny Health System Inc. dba Forbes Hospital.

Companies: West Penn Allegheny Health System Inc.; Forbes Hospital

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