A troubling case has emerged at Harvard University, where a former audiovisual technician has filed a lawsuit alleging disability discrimination and retaliation following medical leave and requests for accommodation. 

The former employee, Sarah Gay, worked in Harvard’s Division of Continuing Education supporting faculty with classroom technology. In 2023 she suffered a pulmonary embolism, took seven months of medical leave, and when she returned in 2024 she claims the university imposed a heavier in-person workload and refused reasonable accommodations. 

The complaint states that her new manager told her she should “meditate” to improve her medical issues and then assigned her unexpectedly tough tasks for instance carrying multiple laptops across campus, climbing ladders and other physically demanding duty not in her original role. When she later underwent open-chest surgery in November 2024, she requested accommodation again. The university reportedly increased her on-campus requirement from four days to five days a week, offering only leave as an accommodation option. 

Upon extended leave, she says Harvard flagged employees who took more than six months as at risk for termination, an action she alleges directly violates Massachusetts law and the federal Americans with Disabilities Act. When she sought to transition into a less physically demanding role, she was told the “interactive dialogue” was paused. Her employment was terminated in May 2025. 

Her lawsuit claims violations of the Massachusetts Fair Employment Practices Act, ADA, and the Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave Act, and seeks compensation for lost wages, benefits and punitive damages. Harvard has yet to respond publicly. 

This case raises important questions: how institutions treat employees with disabilities or medical needs, how accommodations are managed and whether the burden of remedy falls unfairly on the individual. For staff, it’s a cautionary tale about advocating for your rights. For employers, it’s a reminder that policies around accommodation and performance must be transparent, consistent and above legal thresholds.

In a broader sense, the lawsuit highlights that even elite institutions are not immune to claims of bias and systemic flaws. The outcome may set a precedent for how universities handle disability accommodations and medical-leave transitions going forward.