What happened: A former employee alleges Gallagher fired her after she requested disability accommodations and took approved medical leave
Who's involved: Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. and its service subsidiary; a former Benefit Advocacy Representative
What's at stake: Compensatory and punitive damages - no specific dollar figure is stated in the complaint
Why it matters: The complaint raises disability accommodation and medical-leave claims against one of the industry's most recognized brokerage names
Where it stands: Complaint filed October 1, 2026, in US District Court in Nevada
She got the accommodation approved in February. By April, the complaint says, she was out of a job.
A former Benefit Advocacy Representative has filed a federal lawsuit against Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. and its service subsidiary, alleging the brokerage fired her because of her disabilities and to punish her for requesting workplace adjustments and taking medical leave. For an industry well acquainted with employment practices liability claims, the name on this one will draw attention.
The complaint, filed October 1, 2026, in the US District Court for the District of Nevada, brings seven claims under federal and state disability and medical-leave laws. The employee says she started working in Gallagher's Las Vegas operation in April 2019.
According to the complaint, things shifted in September 2025 when the employee was assigned a new supervisor and began facing increased scrutiny over her work.
In November 2025, she had hernia surgery and took roughly three weeks of medical leave. Shortly after she came back, the complaint says, Gallagher put her on a written Performance Improvement Plan.
What followed moves quickly. In December 2025, she contacted Gallagher’s leave and accommodation department, explaining she could not handle back-to-back phone work for eight hours because of her conditions - an anxiety disorder with panic attacks, irritable bowel syndrome, and a post-surgical hernia condition, the filing states. Her treating providers backed a limit on phone duties. By late December, she started approved intermittent leave under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act for a serious health condition.
Then came what the complaint describes as a move in the wrong direction. In January 2026, Gallagher allegedly extended her Performance Improvement Plan and tried to shift her from an email-based Research Advocate role into a Call Advocate position - one requiring substantially more phone work, in "direct conflict" with what she had asked for, the filing says.
In February 2026, Gallagher approved an accommodation restricting the employee to email-based casework with no telephone requirements, according to the complaint. She accepted and continued to need it.
In March 2026, the filing says, she raised concerns with HR that she was being singled out and that her treatment felt like harassment. The complaint alleges Gallagher did not address her concerns.
On or about April 8, 2026, shortly after she returned from a day of approved leave, Gallagher terminated her employment on what the complaint calls "a false and pretextual basis."
The lawsuit seeks compensation for lost earnings and benefits, emotional distress, and punitive damages. No specific dollar figure is stated.
The employee filed a discrimination charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and its Nevada state equivalent on September 29, 2026, according to the complaint. The EEOC closed the case without making findings and cleared her to sue on October 1, 2026.
The sequence described in the complaint - accommodation requested, role changed, employee exits - is a fact pattern familiar to anyone who works with employment practices liability claims. That Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. is the named defendant will not go unnoticed.
The allegations in the complaint have not been tested, and no court has ruled on the merits of the claims.
