A woman alleges she was fired after suffering several life-threatening allergic reactions to onions in the office, a lawsuit claims.

The suit, filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, has accused payroll company Paycom of firing employee Katie Jorgenson shortly after she joined the company due to her fatal onion allergy, per The Oklahoman.

The commission detailed the suit in their press release, alleging that shortly after Jorgenson was hired by Paycom, she began to suffer anaphylactic reactions due to food brought in by her coworkers.

According to the suit, three days after starting in late May, co-workers carried burgers with onions past Jorgenson’s cubicle, causing her to suffer an anaphylactic reaction. The very next day she was exposed to onions again which resulted in paramedics being called to the office.

The next week she was allowed to work in a secluded area over lunch, but was still exposed to onions four more times, with the last resulting in a hospital visit, the lawsuit claims.

She was then transferred to an office on a different floor with fewer co-workers. However, that desk was 15 feet from a break room where people routinely ate. According to the suit, those co-workers were not made aware of Jorgenson’s allergy. The suit alleges that Paycom told Jorgenson to wear a mask and carry an EpiPen instead of accommodating her needs.

She was then exposed yet again on June 17 and June 18. Both times she had an anaphylactic reaction, and on June 18 she needed “multiple rounds of EpiPen administration and other medical intervention before her condition stabilized.”

On June 19, she was fired, with the company stating that it was for “health and wellness,” according to the suit.

Andrea G. Baran, regional attorney for the commission’s St. Louis District, said in a press release: “Employers have a legal obligation to explore and provide reasonable accommodations for workers with disabilities — especially when the potential consequences of inaction are life-threatening.

“No employee should be forced to choose between their health and their livelihood.”

Per a copy of the suit obtained by The Independent, Jorgenson disclosed her allergy during the interview process for her role as a Benefits Coordinator.

However, despite her disclosure and her multiple allergic reactions, Paycom allegedly failed to provide “an effective accommodation,” by only giving her “limited temporary workspace adjustments.” The suit also alleges that Paycom failed to tell coworkers not to bring in the allergen, and also declined her requests to work remotely, despite Jorgenson doing all of her work on a computer.

Paycom was recently named as one of America’s Greatest Workplaces in Tech 2026 by Newsweek.

The lawsuit states that firing Jorgenson is a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act as it is illegal to fire someone due to a disability or because they requested accommodation. Additionally, the company is alleged to have failed to accommodate Jorgenson’s disabilities when the accommodations would not have been difficult for the company to implement.

The suit further states that: “The unlawful employment practices complained of in [the lawsuit] were done with malice or with reckless indifference to the federally protected rights of Jorgenson.”

The Independent has reached out to Paycom for comment.

In a statement to The Oklahoman, Paycom said: “While we do not comment on pending litigation, we want to affirm that Paycom is committed to the well-being of our employees.

“We maintain a workplace that complies with applicable federal, state and local employment laws, including the Americans with Disabilities Act.”