Plaintiff Drilon Berdynaj (“Plaintiff”) has worked for the New York City Department of Citywide Administrative Services (“DCAS”) since approximately September 2018, in Real Estate Services within its Design & Project Management unit.
On March 16, 2026, Plaintiff filed a putative class action complaint against the City of New York (“Defendant” or the “City”) in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. The putative class action complaint alleges that, despite DCAS’s citywide role for providing equal employment opportunity and reasonable accommodation guidance to city agencies, DCAS itself violated disability accommodation rights in its treatment of its own employees.
The putative class action complaint’s allegations include a current alleged policy of: (1) denying disability-based accommodation requests because the disability and/or the requested accommodation was characterized as permanent or indefinite, or lacking a fixed end date; (2) retaliating against employees who requested disability-based remote work accommodations; and (3) repeatedly demanding unnecessary additional medical documentation from employees with permanent or long-term disabilities whose disability accommodations had previously been approved.
According to the putative class action complaint, Plaintiff initially requested and received a full-time remote work accommodation, and successfully performed his job remotely for years.
The putative class action complaint alleges that, DCAS later reversed course and denied his disability-based remote work accommodation, demanded additional unnecessary medical documentation and a “date certain” to return to the office, and stated that “reasonable accommodations are typically not permanent or indefinite.” The putative class action complaint further alleges that the City retaliated against Plaintiff through, instead of continuing his disability-based remote work accommodation, imposed forced use of leave, an AWOL designation, disciplinary charges, a Section 72 medical examination, and a September 12, 2025 involuntary FMLA designation.
The putative class action complaint further alleges that DCAS demoted Plaintiff on September 15, 2022, one day after he renewed his original accommodation request.
The putative class action complaint further alleges that, in March 2026, while Plaintiff remained out of work on involuntary leave, the City initially told him that he could only return to work if his doctor stated that he could return “full duty” or “without restrictions.” The putative class action complaint alleges that this stated requirement, like the earlier accommodation denials and documentation demands, was part of the same broader unlawful accommodation and retaliation practices challenged in the case.
The putative class action complaint asserts individual and class claims under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act on behalf of the proposed classes and an individual FMLA interference claim on behalf of Plaintiff.
Among other requested relief, the putative class complaint seeks class-wide declaratory and injunctive relief requiring lawful, timely, and individualized accommodation procedures, limits on unnecessary medical-document demands, reclassification of unlawfully categorized unauthorized absences or AWOL, correction of adverse personnel records, and anti-retaliation relief.
For Berdynaj individually, the putative class complaint seeks reinstatement to his current position or pre-demotion position, or an equivalent role, grant of a fully remote disability accommodation, back pay, front pay, restoration of leave and benefits, removal of AWOL status, restoration of depleted leave banks, nominal damages, liquidated damages, attorneys’ fees, and costs.
The case is Berdynaj v. The City of New York, Case No. 1:26-cv-02126, and is pending in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York before U.S. District Court Judge Dale E. Ho. and Magistrate Judge Jennifer Willis. The filed complaint is available here.. The complaint contains allegations only, and the Court has not made any findings on the merits.