It certainly started with a good intention. A company in Covington, Kentucky (USA) always celebrates its employees’ birthdays with a party. But in 2019, Kevin, who had worked there for 10 months, asked not to do this for him. The man indeed suffers from anxiety disorders and panic attacks and he feared that this would happen to him in the event of a fiesta given in his honor. Especially since birthday parties remind him of bad childhood memories related to the divorce of his parents.
Except the office manager forgot that request and threw the party. And it did not miss, Kevin had a panic attack and left to take refuge in his car during his entire lunch break. Rather than apologise, the man’s bosses called him the next day and blamed him for spoiling the joy of his colleagues with his attitude and for being “a little girl”. New panic attack, which this time earned him his dismissal, his employers saying they feared that he could get angry and become violent.
Kevin sued his box and the trial was held at the end of March, as the story goes. CBS. After two days of hearings, the jury found that the employer discriminated against Kevin because of his disability and retaliated when the employee only asked for reasonable accommodation. The company was ordered to pay the plaintiff $450,000, $300,000 for emotional distress and $150,000 for lost wages.
The company’s lawyer persists in saying that the latter denies all responsibility and will study possible remedies.