Federal regulators say Butterball crossed the line when it fired a longtime Garner employee shortly after she disclosed a breast cancer diagnosis and asked for time off for chemotherapy. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has filed a federal lawsuit claiming the company shuffled the worker to a third-party benefits administrator that never approved her leave, then hit her with attendance violations and cut her loose. Court records identify the worker as Marie Marc, who had been with Butterball since 2013.
In a press release, the EEOC said it filed suit on March 31, 2026, in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina (Case No. 5:26-cv-00202-FL). The agency accuses Butterball of violating the Americans with Disabilities Act by failing to provide reasonable accommodations. According to the lawsuit, Marc racked up attendance points for absences tied to chemotherapy and was ultimately terminated while the leave issue remained unresolved.
Timeline In The Complaint
As reported by The News & Observer, Marc’s daughter notified Butterball of the Aug. 24, 2023, diagnosis, and the company directed the family to Voya Financial, its third-party benefits administrator. The complaint alleges Voya never approved the leave request, that Marc missed chemotherapy appointments between Sept. 7 and Sept. 11, 2023, was removed from the schedule on Sept. 11 and was fired on Sept. 13. The filing says Marc returned to the plant on Sept. 18 to find her badge no longer worked and that HR told her she had been terminated, even though she had provided doctor’s notes.
What The EEOC Alleges
The EEOC argues that employers are still on the hook for disability law compliance even when they outsource leave management, and that broken systems can leave sick workers out in the cold. “Absent undue hardship, intermittent leave and exemptions from progressive attendance policies can be effective reasonable accommodations under federal law,” EEOC Regional Attorney Melinda C. Dugas said in the agency’s press release. The lawsuit seeks to hold Butterball liable for what the agency characterizes as a failure to accommodate and a wrongful termination.
Company Response And Relief Sought
Butterball declined to comment when contacted by The News & Observer. According to the complaint cited by the paper, the EEOC is asking a jury to decide compensation for lost employment and emotional suffering and is seeking back pay with interest, along with either front pay or reinstatement for Marc.
Why This Matters Locally
Court filings note that Marc identifies as Haitian and spoke almost exclusively Haitian Creole, often relying on her daughter to translate, underscoring how vulnerable non-English-speaking production workers can be when serious illness collides with corporate bureaucracy. Industry reporting says the case fits into heightened EEOC scrutiny of accommodation practices in food processing and serves as a reminder that outsourcing leave administration does not relieve an employer of legal obligations, according to MEAT+POULTRY…