A former associate producer for “The Doctors” will have to let an arbitrator rather than a jury decide her claim that Stage 29 Productions LLC fired her in 2021 in retaliation for seeking time off and asking for other accommodations to deal with thyroid cancer, a judge has ruled.
Morgan Kaylor’s Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit alleges wrongful termination, retaliation, disability discrimination, failure to accommodate and engage in the interactive process and failure to take steps to prevent discrimination and retaliation. On Thursday, Judge Joseph Lipner granted a motion to compel arbitration filed by Stage 29, a company founded by CEO and executive producers Phil McGraw and Jay McGraw.
Kaylor conceded that an agreement existed to arbitrate any work-related disputes, but maintained that Stage 29 waived its right to pay a filing fee on time. But the judge disagreed that a waiver occurred.
“Defendant timely paid the first invoice, but because of an administrative error (the arbitrator) returned it,” Lipner wrote, adding that the arbitrator reset the time to pay by issuing its second invoice after the administrative mistake.
“Defendant paid that immediately,” according to the judge “The record here does not show any late payment.”
Lipner scheduled a post-arbitration status conference for Aug. 5, 2026.
According to her suit, Kaylor, now 53, was hired in 2017 and her job included being an associate producer for the long-running medical advice show. She also assisted her supervisor with other projects and was promoted to production marketing coordinator/associate producer and production manager two years later, the suit states.
Kaylor was diagnosed with thyroid cancer in 2021 and she quickly informed her boss so Stage 29 would not have any interruptions or scheduling issues while she underwent treatment, the suit states. She went on leave in March of that year and returned two weeks later after surgery, the suit filed last June 14 further states.
In June 2021, Kaylor underwent radioactive iodine therapy and took a month-long medical leave, during which time Stage 29 hired an executive assistant’s mother to temporarily fill the plaintiff’s position, the suit states.
Although Kaylor returned to work in August of that year, she still needed occasional time off for treatment, according to the suit, which further states that the woman temporarily brought in to do the plaintiff’s work stayed on the job and continued performing work that had been the responsibility of Kaylor.
Kaylor was terminated in December 2021, allegedly in retaliation because of her cancer and need for accommodations.