A 40-year veteran of the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office has filed a lawsuit alleging she faced retaliation and discrimination while caring for her elderly parents, as reported [1] by The New York Post.
Joan Davila, who served as head of the DA’s extradition office, claims in her lawsuit that she suffered “caretaker discrimination, retaliation, and harassment” during her time providing care for her ailing parents.
According to the lawsuit filed last week in Manhattan Supreme Court, Davila alleges that her health insurance was temporarily canceled, she was removed from her leadership position, and she was reprimanded for mentioning her recently deceased father.
Davila began her career with the DA’s Office in 1984 after being encouraged by a high school guidance counselor.
She rose through the ranks from clerk to paralegal to overseeing the extradition unit, a role she says she loved until retaliation began in 2019 after she took family leave to care for her parents.
Upon returning to work, Davila said she was denied overtime, prompting her to file a complaint with the Office of Equal Employment Opportunity.
Matters worsened in early 2023 when, after another leave, she returned to find her position reassigned to another employee.
“I was coming back to nothing,” Davila told The Post. She described the reassignment as comparable to stripping a police officer of their firearm and relegating them to desk duty.
Although she was offered another position as head administrator of a trial bureau, she said further retaliation followed when she again took leave in 2024 to assist her father.
The lawsuit alleges that Davila’s new supervisor, Siobhan Carty, retaliated by setting erratic deadlines and denying overtime.
Carty stated: “I had to do your work while you were away.”
Following another complaint, Davila says Carty confronted her, accused her of trying to build a legal case, and threatened demotion.
According to the suit, Carty said she “doesn’t understand why you keep mentioning your father” and accused Davila of “probably just doing this to build a case,” further alleging that Davila was recording the meeting.
Davila claims her health insurance was abruptly canceled in March while she was scheduling her own medical appointments, and her paychecks were also disrupted.
Although her insurer indicated the DA’s Office was responsible for the cancellation, the office denied involvement. It took nearly two weeks for her coverage to be reinstated.
Attempts to escalate the issue to DA Alvin Bragg and meetings with union officials and the office’s chief operating officer reportedly yielded no results. “Not one of my OEEO complaints moved forward,” Davila said.
Reflecting on her experience, Davila said, “Would this have happened under [former DA Robert] Morgenthau? Probably not. The employees mattered for him.”
The DA’s Office has not responded to requests for comment, and the city’s Law Department declined to comment, citing pending litigation.