The ex-nanny of actors Jason Sudeikis and Olivia Wilde has filed a disability bias suit against the stars in California court alleging she was immediately fired after requesting medical leave to manage her chronic stress and anxiety brought on by the actors’ breakup.
Ericka Genaro, according to the lawsuit, worked as a nanny to the former couple’s two kids since 2018. Genaro is accusing Sudeikis, Wilde and ML Management LLC of discrimination and failure to accommodate her disability under the state of California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA). They are also being accused of retaliation as described under the act of failure to engage in the interactive process as required by CA law.
Sudeikis and Wilde’s joint response was, “As parents, it is incredibly upsetting to learn that a former nanny of our two young children would choose to make such false and scurrilous accusations about us publicly,” the statement said in October. “Her now 18-month long campaign of harassing us, as well as loved ones, close friends and colleagues, has reached its unfortunate apex. We will continue to focus on raising and protecting our children with the sincere hope that she will now choose to leave our family alone.”
After Wilde “abruptly” left the home she had shared with Sudeikis and the children in November 2020, Genaro’s “anxiety from the situation in the … household became close to unbearable,” the lawsuit says, as Sudeikis allegedly leaned on Genaro’s presence for support. Genaro’s role with the children’s lives then increased “exponentially” as she was asked to spend time with them on the weekends when Wilde normally would have been around.
Within hours of Sudeikis learning about Genaro’s requested medical leave, he demanded they speak and he “terminated her on the spot.” Genaro claims she was thrown out of the house and told to go to a hotel, according to the suit, and was unable to get any support from Wilde. She believes the firing “was because of her disability of anxiety/depression, and for seeking reasonable accommodations in the form of a three day leave of absence for the same.”
“Ms. Wilde and Mr. Sudeikis really stepped in it by firing my client when she needed a 72-hour break from the emotional chaos their split created, as prescribed by her physician," said Ron Zambrano, Genaro's attorney. "Employees are most vulnerable when they need time off to care for themselves. Laws are in place for just that reason, to afford them peace of mind to take that time without fear of losing their jobs."