NEW YORK, NY — A former Managing Partner at BDO USA, P.C., one of the largest accounting and advisory firms in the country, has filed a federal lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, alleging the firm discriminated and retaliated against her during the most traumatic period of her life—when her young son suffered a catastrophic brain hemorrhage.
The complaint, filed by Filippatos PLLC and Mesidor PLLC, contends that BDO’s senior leadership—the so-called “Brutes, Destroyers, and Oppressors” referenced in the filing—responded to Lagos’s unimaginable personal crisis not with empathy or lawful accommodation, but with “cruel, sadistic, and unlawful” retaliation.
The plaintiff, Eleni Lagos, a nationally recognized tax executive and one of BDO’s highest-ranking women, asserts that the firm’s senior leadership used her son’s medical emergency as a pretext to cut her pay, isolate her professionally, and ultimately terminate her—just months before she was due to receive millions of dollars through an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) transaction.
“I gave BDO my excellence. When my son got sick, I asked for basic humanity in return,” said Eleni Lagos, who had risen to the highest ranks of the firm’s risk and compliance division. “Instead, they stripped me of my dignity, erased my achievements, and discarded me like a liability. I will not let them get away with it.”
According to the 71-page complaint, Lagos’s son suffered a sudden catastrophic brain hemorrhage in May 2022 that left him wheelchair-bound, physically impaired, and fully dependent on her care. Though Lagos had spent years building a stellar reputation at BDO—consistently exceeding expectations and spearheading critical national initiatives—the firm allegedly responded to her need for accommodation with indifference and malice.
The complaint brings claims under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), New York State and City Human Rights Laws. Lagos seeks compensatory and punitive damages for disability discrimination, failure to accommodate, retaliation, and wrongful termination. Lagos also alleges claims of breach of contract, defamation per se, and interference of rights under COBRA.
“This case underscores the devastating consequences when corporate power is weaponized against working mothers who are simply trying to hold their families together,” said Mesidor PLLC, co-counsel for Lagos. “BDO’s treatment of Ms. Lagos was not only morally reprehensible—it was legally indefensible.”
“Rather than providing the support and flexibility their own policies promote, BDO chose to eliminate a high-performing executive because she became a caregiver,” said Filippatos PLLC, co-counsel for Lagos. “This lawsuit demands accountability for a pattern of behavior that violates the most fundamental principles of employment law and human dignity.”
Lagos alleges that after disclosing her son’s diagnosis and requesting temporary accommodations, BDO removed her from leadership roles, excluded her from internal communications, and launched a baseless internal investigation aimed at undermining her credibility and performance. She was ultimately terminated in 2024.
The lawsuit seeks compensatory and punitive damages, as well as injunctive relief to prevent future discrimination and retaliation against employees facing family medical crises.
Mesidor PLLC and Filippatos PLLC are nationally recognized litigation firms dedicated to combating employment discrimination, retaliation, and harassment in the workplace.