Cindy Hawthorne had just started her job as a civil rights compliance investigator at GSU when she was diagnosed with cancer — just three weeks in. She described it as “skydiving without a parachute.” Her supervisors were initially sympathetic, allowed her to work from home, and extended her deadlines. She was so committed that she delayed her own surgery by a month to keep up with her workload. Her directors gave her a positive performance review.

Then her chemotherapy got harder. When she asked for her accommodations to be extended, GSU placed her on a performance improvement plan instead — the kind of document employers use when building a case to fire someone. A new employee was hired in her department around the same time, who later testified during the EEOC investigation that Hawthorne was being deliberately pushed out.

In October 2024, less than a year after she started, she was fired.

Hawthorne has now filed a federal lawsuit against the University System of Georgia. Her attorney said it plainly: “This is a woman who delayed having surgery because she wanted to make sure the work got done. That’s someone that’s more than pulling her weight.” Hawthorne herself said: “I was just thrown away and lied to, to make it feel like it was my fault.”

The university has declined to comment. The case is now before a federal court.