Employee Paid $175,000 in Disability Discrimination Lawsuit
Nov. 7, 2022
IF YOU SUFFER FROM ANXIETY OR STRESS AT WORK, YOUR EMPLOYER CANNOT FIRE YOU OR DISCRIMINATE AGAINST YOU…YOU HAVE RIGHTS UNDER THE ADA!
November 1, 2022
Recently, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) sued an employer, Pivotal Home Solutions, on behalf of a temporary employee who was illegally fired because she had post-traumatic stress disorder (“PTSD”) and anxiety. The employee informed her supervisor at Pivotal that she had suffered a panic attack and that her doctor prescribed medication to help her cope with PTSD and anxiety. The supervisor then contacted Pivotal’s staffing company and requested that the employee be removed because she had a “nervous breakdown.” The employee had not suffered any drop in work performance due to her mental health, and there was no other reason to discharge the employee. As a result of the lawsuit against Pivotal by the EEOC, Pivotal paid $175,000 to the employee to settle the case.
Firing an employee because of a disability, which caused no problems with work performance, is illegal under the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”), which protects workers from being discriminated against on the basis of a disability. This protection applies even if the employee is not actually disabled, but the employer treats the employee as if the employee is disabled.
IF SOMETHING LIKE THIS IS HAPPENING TO YOU,
EMAIL US AT CMWEISS@FOXAND WEISS.COM OR CALL 770-317-1767
TO SPEAK TO AN EMPLOYMENT LAWYER WHO CAN HELP.