St. Thomas University official fired over medical leave, lawsuit says

A high-ranking and longtime St. Thomas University employee argues administration wrongfully terminated her for daring to ask for time off after a chronic disease diagnosis, according to a lawsuit filed July 28.

Formerly director of admissions for the university, Camila Alcala argues that St. Thomas officials blindsided her with the termination five weeks after she requested medical leave during graduation week in spring 2025, according to the lawsuit (attached below). Officials at the private Catholic Miami Gardens school cited concerns with “professional behavior, insubordination, responsiveness to students, collaboration with admissions team and university leadership,” despite Alcala’s spotless 24-year employment record, according to the lawsuit.

Although it’s unclear whether Alcala’s complaint is related, the filing comes five days after the administration placed St. Thomas University President David Armstrong on leave pending an investigation into “allegations of conduct in violation of university policy,” according to CBS News. His only mention in the lawsuit relates to Armstrong promoting Alcala to director of admissions.

University officials didn’t respond to New Times’ requests for comment via phone or email.

Alcala argues that her employment record was stellar, evidenced by her rising through the ranks from her start in September 2001 as a registration clerk in the law school to cashier, data processor, data manager, assistant director of processing, director of admissions processing, associate director of admissions, and finally director of admissions, according to the lawsuit.

“Throughout her employment with St. Thomas,” the lawsuit reads, “Alcala was consistently regarded as a good employee and received positive evaluations, including a 100% performance evaluation on Jan. 17, 2025, just five months before her termination.”

In May 2025, Alcala fell ill and learned she had chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a disease that accounts for about 139,000 deaths nationally each year and is the third-leading cause of death worldwide, according to the World Health Organization.

Following her doctor’s instructions, Alcala requested three days off to rest after the diagnosis, which fell during the school’s critical graduation week. That’s when her supervisor began treating her differently, despite failing to mention any performance issues, according to the lawsuit.

The day after Alcala returned from a follow-up appointment, university officials placed her on a performance improvement plan, citing concerns with her work — the first such action in her two decades at the university. The plan called for a performance review after 16 days and required that she have no unscheduled absences for 30 days without advance approval whenever possible, a provision she argues directly targeted her medical condition.

Before the scheduled 16-day performance review could take place, university officials fired Alcala in June 2025. According to the lawsuit, her supervisors had not documented any additional performance issues during the improvement period.

During the termination meeting, her supervisor “cited alleged performance deficiencies as the reason for Alcala’s termination, including claims that Alcala had not reviewed all applications, had made errors in transfer evaluations, and had attendance issues on June 3, June 9, and June 12, 2025,” the lawsuit states.

Alcala contends the timing supports her claim of retaliation, noting that university officials issued the performance improvement plan 12 days after her medical leave request and terminated her five weeks after that request.

Alcala’s attorneys didn’t respond to New Times’ emailed request for comment.