Former anchor Edna Schmidt has been doing the media rounds in Chicago this week, promoting WGBO Univision’s special series “Edna Mi Verdad,” about women and alcoholism that features her battle with the disease and her professional downfall because of it.
A founding co-anchor of Univision Chicago’s newscast, Edna was also interviewed live on the set on election night, after the airing of the second part of the series.
But she’s not just speaking out in the media – Edna is taking her case to court. On Thursday, her attorneys filed a lawsuit in federal court on her behalf against WSNS Telemundo Chicago and NBC Universal Media for wrongful termination.
It has been over a year since Edna was pulled off the air at WSNS and terminated from her $200,000 paying anchor job at the Telemundo Chicago station.
According to documents filed with the complaint, station management took her off the air on September 30, 2013 in the middle of the 10 pm newscast for appearing intoxicated.
The suit claims Telemundo and NBC Universal violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by not providing Edna with “reasonable accommodation for her condition.”
According to the ADA, “an alcoholic is a person with a disability and is protected by the ADA if s/he is qualified to perform the essential functions of the job. An employer may be required to provide an accommodation to an alcoholic. However, an employer can discipline, discharge or deny employment to an alcoholic whose use of alcohol adversely affects job performance or conduct.”
Edna is seeking an unspecified amount in damages.
Telemundo has not yet responded to a request for comment about the lawsuit.