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Court Rules For Estate Of Fired Cancer Victim

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- A Maryland-based home health services company has been ordered to pay $160,000 to the estate of a woman who was terminated after informing her bosses she had cancer.

The St. Paul Pioneer Press reports the case was one of the first filed by the federal government under the Americans with Disabilities Act after Congress expanded the law's definition of disability.

Anne Whitledge was director of clinical services for Maxim Healthcare Services in Minneapolis. She was fired in February 2009 after an eight-week leave for brain cancer treatment.

Maxim denies firing her because she had cancer. In a statement, the company said they are committed to supporting employees facing medical challenges but that must be balanced with patient needs.

Whitledge died in August 2010.

A federal court in Minneapolis recently approved the settlement.

(© Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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