Philadelphia Home Depot associate sues, alleges FMLA interference, retaliation, race discrimination

Robert Green filed a federal complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania on February 13, 2026 alleging interference with Family and Medical Leave Act rights, retaliation under the FMLA, and race discrimination under 42 U.S.C. § 1981. Green is identified in the filings as an African‑American sales associate who worked at The Home Depot’s Roosevelt Boulevard location in Philadelphia and who was hired by the company in approximately 2015.

According to the complaint, Green has epilepsy and sought intermittent FMLA leave in or around January 2023. The suit states that his neurologist, Dr. Saman Zafar, provided certification supporting the request and that Green submitted his completed FMLA application on or about March 8, 2023 to the store manager identified only as Paul. The filings assert those application steps as the factual backbone of the FMLA interference and retaliation claims.

The complaint alleges that Green was fired after requesting medical leave and that the store manager referenced Green’s epilepsy during a theft interrogation before termination. The filings do not specify the exact date of termination, the content of the alleged theft interrogation beyond the manager reference, or whether Green was formally accused of theft. The complaint combines the medical‑leave timeline and the alleged interrogation as central facts supporting both statutory leave claims and the Section 1981 race discrimination claim.

Green’s complaint seeks compensatory and punitive damages, lost wages, reinstatement, and the expungement of all negative records from his employment file. The complaint frames the proximity of the FMLA paperwork—submitted on March 8, 2023—and the alleged adverse action as critical to the case’s legal theory, placing timing and context at the center of the dispute.

The Home Depot has not yet responded to the allegations and the case has not been decided, according to the filings. The complaint, as pleaded, leaves several concrete questions open in the record: the exact termination date, whether Home Depot approved or denied the FMLA request, the full identity and role of the manager named only as Paul, and any internal investigation reports or personnel records tied to the theft interrogation and separation.

If the complaint proceeds, the court docket for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and the filed complaint are likely to reveal exhibits such as the FMLA certification from Dr. Saman Zafar, any termination or separation paperwork, and the specific factual allegations that Green says link his protected leave request to the alleged adverse employment actions.