Company revokes job offer when new hire shares breast cancer diagnosis, feds say

A new hire at a Boston company was diagnosed with breast cancer after she accepted the position — then the company rescinded her offer, federal officials said.

Now, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is suing Atlantic Properties Management Corp. and its affiliate, Diversified Funding, Inc. on accusations of disability discrimination.

“This woman was perfectly able to perform her job duties, but upon learning that she had cancer, the company immediately revoked her job offer – in clear violation of federal law,” Yaw Gyebi Jr., the director of the New York District Office, said in a Feb. 15 release from the EEOC.

Federal officials are suing on behalf of the woman, who was hired as an executive administrative assistant at the company in September 2021, according to the civil complaint filed Feb. 15.

The woman had previous work experience as an executive assistant and was qualified for the position, which served the president and vice president of Diversified Funding Inc., federal officials said.

Rick Bendetson, the founder and president of Diversified Funding, Inc., told McClatchy News in a phone interview that the role was more expansive than an administrative assistant position. He said it involved human resources functions, as well as serving residents and coordinating with property managers at the company’s buildings.

Shortly after the woman accepted the job, she learned she had a form of breast cancer called invasive ductal carcinoma. She needed weekly treatments and likely surgery, but otherwise her doctor cleared her to perform the job, federal officials said.

When her employers asked for further clarification, the woman sent a doctor’s note that she could perform the job duties, but she would need time off for weekly treatment that lasted four to five hours, surgery and recovery, and potentially one to three unplanned days per month for her symptoms.

Bendetson said the job required responding to emergencies, and the woman’s schedule, which might involve taking days off unexpectedly, would make the job impossible.

More than a month after the company offered the woman the job, an executive sent her an email “noting the Defendants were very sorry about her diagnosis and attaching a letter rescinding her offer of employment due to her need to be out of the office at times for treatment,” federal officials said in the complaint.

The company didn’t ask her about potential accommodations, such as scheduling treatments on weekends or outside work hours, federal officials said.

“Defendants could have but failed to provide (her) ... with a reasonable accommodation,” officials said.

Bendetson said they discussed questions such as how much time she would need off. In the end he made the “tough decision” that she wouldn’t be able to work in the position due to the inconsistency of the hours or time off.

“We’re a service company, we’ve got to provide service,” he said.

Federal officials said in the complaint that another employee who worked the position was offered a flexible schedule in order to care for an ill family member. This employee worked earlier hours to finish her shift early.

Federal officials are seeking back pay, compensation for losses and punitive damages.

The agency filed the suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts after saying it failed to settle with the company.

Bendetson said he felt the lawsuit was misdirected, and although he’s not happy to fight with the government, he chose not to settle.

“If we admit to this then we’re bad people, and we’re not bad people,” Bendetson said.

The Americans with Disabilities Act “prohibits discrimination based on disability and retaliation for requesting a reasonable accommodation,” according to the EEOC.

Bendetson said this is the first time something like this has happened in his 50 years of running the company. He said the company’s track record accommodating other employees and his involvement with charitable community organizations should speak to the company’s good conduct.

This story was originally published February 16, 2024 at 5:32 PM with the headline "Company revokes job offer when new hire shares breast cancer diagnosis, feds say."