A former Loudon Elementary School employee is suing Merrimack Valley’s school administrative unit, claiming she was forced to resign in 2024 after experiencing a series of medical issues.
Shelbee Hogan worked as a building assistant at the school from 2019 to 2024, according to the lawsuit, which she filed in federal court last week.
Hogan said that on the day she returned from a week-long medical leave in March 2024, administrators called her into a meeting and told her she could either resign or be fired.
Human Resources Director Kathleen Boucher told Hogan that “even with the FMLA, you are too unreliable,” according to the lawsuit. FMLA refers to the Family and Medical Leave Act.
Randy Wormald, the superintendent of the Merrimack Valley School District, declined to comment on the lawsuit.
Hogan said that she began experiencing medical issues in March 2023. She dealt with chronic nausea, vomiting and dizziness at first, before also experiencing complications from a COVID infection in December 2023.
On one occasion, according to the lawsuit, Hogan “had to be brought through the school via wheelchair and transported to the hospital because she was dizzy, unable to see and profusely bleeding.”
Hogan received permission from her doctor to take “intermittent” medical leaves from June to October 2023.
At the end of her medical leave period, Hogan was feeling better, she said. A few months later, however, her condition worsened again following her COVID infection.
Ultimately, she was diagnosed with cyclic vomiting syndrome.
In February 2024, Hogan said she received a new prescription for obsessive-compulsive disorder, which led to health complications, according to the lawsuit.
In March 2024, she asked for a week off to taper off that medication and begin taking a new one. Loudon Elementary principal David Bartlett told her she could take the time off even though she hadn’t yet submitted the required FMLA form, according to the lawsuit.
Two days before her anticipated return to work, Hogan said she received an email from Bartlett asking her to meet with him and Boucher. On her first day back at work, Hogan went to the school administrative office and was brought into the room with the two administrators and two women she did not know, according to the lawsuit.
Boucher told Hogan that she was “unreliable” because she would come to work “late” sometimes, according to the lawsuit. She was told she “either needed to resign or they would fire her,” according to the lawsuit.
Hogan said Bartlett and Boucher left the room and the two women present “coaxed” her into resigning, telling her “it would look better than being fired.”
Though she said she told them she did not want to resign, Hogan ultimately said she wrote a brief resignation statement.
Hogan is claiming the school administrative unit wrongfully terminated her and retaliated against her in violation of the FMLA.
The complaint does not state the amount of money she seeks in damages.
Hogan is represented by the law firm Shaheen & Gordon. Her attorney, Olivia Bensinger, did not respond to requests for comment.
In her capacity as a building assistant, Hogan supported students who receive special education services, assisted classroom teachers and worked with students in small groups, according to the lawsuit.