A former city of Albuquerque employee alleges in a lawsuit that she was wrongly fired because a health condition required her to telecommute, leading to a dispute with her supervisor.
Mara Burstein, a former city administrator, alleges she was fired despite statements from a doctor attesting that her medical conditions required her to telecommute up to five days a week.
Albuquerque spokeswoman Ava Montoya said the city would not comment on pending litigation and personnel issues, “but we take these cases very seriously and aim for a fair resolution.”
Burstein was hired as deputy director of the city’s Environmental Health Department in June 2020, several months into the COVID-19 pandemic. She was fired from the $107,000-a-year job in April 2022.
For most of her employment, Burstein was allowed to work from home “due to medical conditions that make her immunocompromised,” the suit said.
The 2nd Judicial District Court lawsuit also identifies as a defendant Angel Martinez, the city’s director of Environmental Health, who was hired in March 2022, becoming Burstein’s direct supervisor.
Martinez told Burstein and others “that he did not support telework and subsequently terminated her employment,” the suit alleges.
Burstein repeatedly told Martinez that she faced “serious medical procedures related to her medical conditions” shortly before she was fired on April 7, 2022, the suit alleged.
The lawsuit, filed Friday against the city, alleges that the city discriminated against her based on her medical conditions.
The suit also alleges that gender and race discrimination played a role in her wrongful termination. Burstein is a woman of Pakistani descent. The suit asks a judge to award her undisclosed damages.
