An ex-Intel design engineer is taking his former employer to court in Marion County, arguing that a strict return-to-office mandate collided with his hearing impairment and ended with him out of a job. He is seeking reinstatement, back pay and roughly $800,000 in damages.
What the complaint says
The lawsuit identifies the plaintiff as Namseok Kim, a design engineer who has worked for Intel since 2014 and lives in Washington County, Oregon. According to the complaint, Intel signed off on a remote-work arrangement in 2023 to accommodate Kim’s hearing disability. That setup allegedly began to crumble in July 2025, when Kim says he was told Intel planned to fire remote workers and moved to terminate his role.
The suit, filed Monday in Marion County Circuit Court, asks for Kim’s former position, lost wages and about $800,000 in damages, as reported by OregonLive.
Intel’s return-to-office push
Intel’s own description of its recent workplace shift comes from a policy update outlined by Intel, where CEO Lip-Bu Tan announced an April 2025 change requiring most hybrid employees to be on site four days a week. Kim’s complaint points to that company-wide return-to-office push and argues that enforcing the policy made his previously approved remote-work accommodation unworkable.
Local context
The lawsuit lands after a turbulent stretch for Intel’s Oregon operations. The company eliminated roughly 3,000 Oregon positions last year, sharply cutting its local headcount and rattling the Silicon Forest job market. That backdrop has turned return-to-office rules into a touchy subject for both workers and managers, as reported by OPB.
Legal implications…