Louisville, Ky. – A Kentucky jury has awarded $ 450,000 to a man who sued his employer after asking the company not to celebrate his birthday at work, but the company did, anyway.
Kevin Berling told his Gravity Diagnostics manager in Covington in 2019 that a birthday celebration would cause him immense stress.
He had been working there for about 10 months, reports CBS Cincinnati affiliate WKRC-TV, and as he suffers from anxiety disorders and panic attacks, he asked the company not to celebrate his birthday as he normally does with his employees. .
But according to the lawsuit, the office manager forgot his request and still held the party for Berling. He had a panic attack and left and spent lunch in his car.
His bosses held a meeting with Berling the next day about the incident, sparking another attack when his supervisor punished him for “stealing the joy of his co-workers” and “being a girl,” the lawsuit said. . Berling was fired after the second attack. The company told her she was worried that she would be angry and possibly violent.
Berling alleged in the lawsuit that the company discriminated against him on the grounds of disability and retaliated against him for demanding a reasonable accommodation.
The jury returned the verdict after a two-day trial in Kenton County that ended in late March, awarding him $ 300,000 for emotional distress and $ 150,000 in lost wages.
The company’s attorney, Katherine Kennedy, said she continues to deny responsibility and is pursuing her post-trial options.
Julie Brazil, the company’s founder and chief operating officer, said in an e-mail statement to the newspaper that “with increasing incidents of violence in the workplace, this verdict sets a very dangerous precedent for to employers and, above all, employees, that unless there is real physical violence, Workplace violence is acceptable. “
Brazil said its employees, rather than the plaintiff, were the victims of the case.
Berling’s attorney, Tony Bucher, said that once the jury met with his client, they realized that the company’s claim to be a threat was outlandish.
Berling had told his supervisor that a birthday party would bring back bad childhood memories of his parents’ divorce.
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