anxiety disorder
Court awards employee $450,000 for not wanting birthday party and getting fired
A birthday party at work is not for everyone (icon image)
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A US court has awarded a plaintiff $450,000 in damages because his company threw him a birthday party against his will. He suffered a panic attack. Then he was fired.
A court in the US state of Kentucky has dealt with an unusual case. It had to decide whether a medical lab was right to fire an employee. The former employee had filed a lawsuit because he felt discriminated against because of an anxiety disorder. That’s why he didn’t want colleagues to organize a birthday party for him. They did it anyway, and the man promptly suffered a seizure. During another panic attack a day later, colleagues even felt threatened and the man was fired. In their verdict, the jury agreed with the employee and awarded him $450,000 in damages.
According to the court, the plaintiff, Kevin Berling, had informed his line manager that he suffered from an anxiety disorder and therefore did not want a birthday party. Unfortunately, the colleagues still planned a small celebration, also because the supervisor was not present at the time.
Red head and clenched fists
As soon as Berling found out about the plans, he suffered a panic attack and escaped to his car during the lunch break while colleagues waited for him in the break room. The next day, two supervisors summoned him and confronted him about his “strange behavior”. As a result, Berling had another panic attack. According to the company’s lawyer, his head turned red and he ordered supervisors to be quiet. He also clenched his fists, which the superiors perceived as a serious threat. They sent him home for the rest of the day.
According to Berling’s lawyer, his client only tried to calm himself down during the conversation. That’s why he asked the superiors to stop talking. Clenching your fists and hugging yourself is another technique to relax.
Company plans to appeal
Three days later, Berling received the termination email and subsequently filed a complaint alleging “disability discrimination.” The court awarded Berling $150,000 for his loss of earnings and $300,000 for suffering, humiliation and damage to his self-confidence. Berling’s former employer wants to appeal against this, among other things because it sees the threshold of impairment as not being crossed.
According to his lawyer, Berling now works at a school and is happy. The anxiety disorders, which had increased after the incident, had decreased.
Sources: “New York Times“, DPA.