A legal complaint filed in federal court alleges that a medical products distributor failed to honor agreed-upon disability accommodations for a warehouse worker who lost her arm in an accident, then retaliated against her after she reported the violations. The case highlights ongoing issues surrounding workplace rights for employees with disabilities.
The lawsuit was filed by Markia Huff on March 9, 2026, in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia against her former employer, Cardinal Health 200, LLC.
According to the complaint, Huff began working as an Associate II in Warehouse Operations at Cardinal Health’s Buford distribution center on or about March 6, 2023. Shortly after starting her job, she was involved in a car accident that resulted in the amputation of her left arm from the elbow down. Huff alleges that this impairment substantially limited major life activities such as lifting and carrying.
The filing states that Huff formally requested reasonable accommodations from Cardinal Health’s Human Resources Department in September 2023. Her supervisor provided a written accommodation plan allowing her to use picking robots to fill orders and restricting her from lifting items over ten pounds. She was also assigned light-duty tasks and placed on a “two hours on, two hours off” schedule alternating between warehouse floor work and lighter assignments.
The complaint reports that these accommodations were reviewed and extended multiple times through January 2024. With these measures in place, Huff asserts she could perform all essential functions of her position.
However, Huff claims that after Lyman Davis became Director of Operations at the Buford facility in late 2023, he began to disregard her accommodation plan. She alleges Davis required her to work full shifts on the warehouse floor without light-duty rotations and assigned tasks causing severe physical pain. When she informed Davis about the pain from constructing boxes for prolonged periods due to her disability, he allegedly refused to reassign her.
Huff’s supervisor reportedly reminded Davis about the established accommodation plan but was ignored and berated for providing accommodations required under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). According to Huff’s account relayed by her supervisor, Davis did not want Huff to be “rewarded” for her disability.
The complaint further describes alleged violations by another supervisor, Shift Lead Veronica Monette-Evans. Despite documented restrictions against lifting more than ten pounds, Monette-Evans is accused of assigning tasks exceeding those limits and denying access to pain relief during shifts when Huff experienced discomfort related to her condition. During one shift on July 25, 2024, Monette-Evans reportedly told Huff to “go ask someone else” when she requested Tylenol for pain management and later suggested she should “go on disability” rather than continue working.
In mid-August 2024, Huff submitted a formal complaint detailing these incidents to Human Resources representative Mary Lingrel but alleges that discriminatory behavior continued afterward.
Due to ongoing physical and emotional harm described as stemming from repeated ADA violations and workplace harassment by supervisors, Huff applied for short-term disability benefits and Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) leave on November 24, 2024. She has not worked onsite since December 2 of that year. Her physician diagnosed anxiety and depression linked directly to workplace harassment factors documented in medical records.
Huff’s short-term disability benefits lasted through May 31, 2025; she then transitioned to long-term disability benefits approved through May 31, 2027. On March 10, 2025—while still employed but out on leave—she filed a Charge of Discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), followed by a second charge alleging retaliation later that year.
On June 2, 2025—while still on approved long-term disability leave—Cardinal Health terminated Huff’s employment. The complaint asserts this action constituted both discrimination based on disability status and unlawful retaliation following protected activity under federal law.
Huff brings three counts: failure to accommodate under the ADA; creation of a hostile work environment based on disability; and retaliation for engaging in protected activity including complaints about discrimination. She claims intentional discrimination led to lost wages and benefits as well as emotional suffering.
As relief from the court, Huff requests reinstatement or front pay if reinstatement is not feasible; compensatory damages; punitive damages; back pay; pre-judgment and post-judgment interest; costs; attorneys’ fees; an injunction barring future discrimination; and any other relief deemed appropriate by the court.
Attorneys Destiney Randolph (Georgia Bar No. 492233) and Christopher B. Hall (Georgia Bar No. 318380) of Hall & Lampros LLP represent Markia Huff in this matter before Judge TWT-JKL under Civil Action No. 1:26-cv-01312-TWT-JKL.
Source: 126cv01312_Markia_Huff_v_Cardinal_Health_Complaint_Northern_District_of_Georiga.pdf
