What followed, Johnson alleges, was a pattern of escalating retaliation. After returning from FMLA leave in October 2023 for a serious medical condition involving loss of vision, she was reassigned to a different supervisor who she says minimized her compliance concerns. A Clinical Research Lead allegedly subjected her to heightened scrutiny, early-morning messages, and emails questioning her performance that were copied to senior leadership. Johnson says she complained. Nothing changed.
She took a second FMLA leave in July 2024 for a fractured ankle. When she returned on or about October 23, 2024, she was not given back her prior workload and was instead placed on administrative training tasks for several weeks. Within days, she reported to Ayana Champagne, the company’s Vice President of People and Organization, that she believed she was being singled out because of her race. She pointed out that non-Black colleagues doing the same work were not facing similar treatment. According to the filing, no action followed that conversation either.
Shortly after, the company allegedly initiated or reopened an investigation into a documentation issue from May 2024 that Johnson says had already been corrected, reviewed, and considered closed by management before her leave. The investigator allegedly did not review her corrected records and accused her of falsifying documentation. On December 12, 2024, less than eight weeks after her return from leave, Johnson was terminated.
The filing also alleges that non-Black CRAs routinely engaged in the same documentation practice that was cited as the basis for her firing and were never investigated or disciplined. A White female CRA who covered Johnson’s sites during her absence allegedly failed to complete significant portions of the work but faced no consequences.
Johnson is seeking back pay, front pay, compensatory and punitive damages, and reinstatement. Novo Nordisk has not yet responded to the suit, and no determination has been made on the merits of the claims.