A former security personnel member at Detroit’s MotorCity Casino has initiated a lawsuit against his previous employer, claiming that he was dismissed while recuperating from heart surgery, despite providing medical documentation that endorsed his leave.
Tyrone Davidson lodged the lawsuit on Tuesday (July 15) in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, accusing Detroit Entertainment LLC, the operator of MotorCity Casino Hotel, of disability discrimination, failure to provide reasonable accommodations, retaliation, and breaching both federal disability regulations and Michigan employment laws.
Medical Circumstances
As per the complaint, Davidson was employed as a security officer starting in September 2022. Following episodes of chest pain in December that year, he faced a medical emergency while on duty and was subsequently transported to Henry Ford Hospital by ambulance. He underwent coronary artery bypass surgery on January 23, 2023.
The lawsuit asserts that Davidson applied for medical leave as a reasonable accommodation for his health condition, and his doctor sent the necessary certification to the casino’s third-party leave administrator on February 13, 2023.
The certification indicated that Davidson would be medically unfit to return to work until May 10, 2023, with transmission records confirming that the documents were successfully sent, as stated in the lawsuit.
Regardless, Davidson alleges that MotorCity terminated his employment on February 27, citing he had been on unauthorized leave since February 2 due to a lack of essential medical documentation.
The plaintiff claims this explanation was untrue, as the certification had been submitted two weeks prior, and he had promptly informed the casino’s human resources department regarding the misunderstanding on the day of his termination.
Davidson argues that both the casino and its leave administrator neglected to process his medical certification accurately, ignored requests to investigate the evident error, and failed to engage in the mandatory interactive process outlined under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) prior to his dismissal.
Involvement of the EEOC
The complaint mentions that the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) examined Davidson’s claims and, in March 2026, issued a determination that there was reasonable cause to believe MotorCity violated the ADA.
Furthermore, Davidson asserts that MotorCity unlawfully denied him access to his personnel records after he made a request while his discrimination case was ongoing.
He seeks back wages, reinstatement or front pay, compensatory and punitive damages, legal fees, and a directive mandating the casino to amend his employment records and grant access to his personnel file.
Casino.org has reached out to MotorCity for a response.