BOCA RATON, FL — A Boca Raton senior living management company is facing a civil lawsuit in Palm Beach County Circuit Court after a former housekeeper alleged she was fired after raising discrimination concerns and taking approved medical leave, according to a complaint filed June 5, 2026.
The lawsuit, Marie Michelle Joseph v. Sunrise Senior Living Management, Inc., Case No. 502026CA006310XXXAMB, was filed in the Circuit Court of the 15th Judicial Circuit in and for Palm Beach County. The complaint identifies the filing as a civil complaint and demand for jury trial.
Marie Michelle Joseph, a Palm Beach County resident, sued Sunrise Senior Living Management, Inc. over allegations involving her employment at the company’s facility at 6343 De Sonrisa Del Sur in Boca Raton, according to the complaint. Joseph is represented by attorney Anthony M. Georges-Pierre of Remer, Georges-Pierre, & Hoogerwoerd, PLLC.
The complaint says Joseph began working for Sunrise Senior Living Management on or about July 16, 2018, as a housekeeper. Her duties allegedly included cleaning resident rooms, making beds, mopping floors and performing related housekeeping work. The filing says she was paid $17 per hour, worked about 30 hours per week and did not have a written employment contract.
According to the lawsuit, Joseph is a Black woman of Haitian national origin. The complaint alleges that during the final months of her employment, a new director of nursing became “hostile and inconsiderate” toward Joseph and other Haitian employees. The lawsuit claims the alleged treatment was connected to their national origin.
Joseph alleges she reported concerns about discriminatory treatment to members of management. The complaint claims management did not investigate or take corrective action.
The lawsuit also alleges Joseph was approved for leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act after left knee replacement surgery. According to the complaint, the approved leave ran from approximately Jan. 14, 2025, through approximately April 7, 2025.
The complaint alleges Joseph was terminated on or about Jan. 3, 2025, while she was on, or about to begin, approved FMLA leave. The filing says that when Joseph prepared to return to work after her leave period, her supervisor told her she had been fired while she was out on approved leave.
The lawsuit claims Sunrise Senior Living Management did not provide Joseph with a legitimate reason for the termination. The complaint also alleges that similarly situated employees outside Joseph’s protected classes, who had not taken FMLA leave and had not complained about discriminatory treatment, were not terminated.
The complaint brings five counts: race, color and national origin discrimination under the Florida Civil Rights Act; retaliation under the Florida Civil Rights Act; hostile work environment based on national origin and race; FMLA interference; and FMLA retaliation.
Joseph is seeking back pay, front pay, lost benefits, compensatory damages, prejudgment interest, attorneys’ fees and costs, punitive damages on the Florida Civil Rights Act claims, liquidated damages under the FMLA and other relief the court deems proper. The complaint also demands a jury trial.
The filing reviewed by Boca Post does not include a response from Sunrise Senior Living Management.
Boca Post reviewed the complaint, Marie Michelle Joseph v. Sunrise Senior Living Management, Inc., Case No. 502026CA006310XXXAMB, filed June 5, 2026, in Palm Beach County Circuit Court. The original complaint can be viewed here.
The case is newly filed in the court’s general jurisdiction division. The allegations have not been proven in court.
Boca Post reports regularly on civil filings in Palm Beach County courts. Readers can browse recent cases in our Boca Raton lawsuits coverage.
