![]() In addition, it’s crucial for employers to create a workplace culture that is supportive of employees’ mental health needs. ![]() Employers must be willing to provide reasonable accommodations for employees with disabilities, or they could end up facing costly lawsuits. This case highlights the importance of understanding and accommodating employees with mental health conditions. This includes failure to provide reasonable accommodations for employees with disabilities, as was the case in this instance.īy not accommodating Berling’s request, the company violated his rights under the ADA and ultimately ended up with a large jury award against it as a result. The ADA prohibits employers from discriminating against employees with disabilities, including mental health conditions that interfere with major life activities. The ADA Protects Those With Mental Health Diagnoses The jury agreed with Berling and awarded him $450,000 in damages. ![]() In this case, Berling’s attorney argued that accommodating his request not to have a birthday celebration would not have been unduly burdensome for the company. ![]() The ADA requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations to employees with disabilities, as long as those accommodations do not create an undue hardship for the employer. A few days later, he was fired with a letter telling him his termination was “because of the events of the previous week.”īerling filed a lawsuit against his former employer, alleging that they failed to accommodate his disability in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”). The meeting triggered yet another panic attack, which led to Berlin’s dismissal from work. The next day, Berling was called into a meeting where he was criticized for his reaction to the birthday party. In response, Berling left the building and texted his manager, communicating his disappointment that they failed to accommodate his request. Despite Berling’s warnings, the company threw a surprise lunchtime birthday party, causing Berling to have a panic attack. Berling suffers from anxiety and had asked his employer not to celebrate his birthday or single him out because of the stress it would cause him. Kevin Berling was employed by Gravity Diagnostics in Kentucky. Then we’ll look at some common accommodations for employees with mental health conditions. In this article, we’ll discuss the case, its outcome, and the laws that were violated. Within days, the man was terminated from his position with a letter stating he was being fired “because of the events of the previous week.” Read on to learn how failure to honor ADA accommodations at work led to this man’s successful discrimination case. Unfortunately, the company threw him a party anyway, which caused the man to have a panic attack. The man had requested that the company not celebrate his birthday out of fear that it would cause him a panic attack and worsen his condition. Kevin was an exceptional employee that went above and beyond for his employer and if they would have taken a step back it would have been clear that he did not present any danger at all.A jury recently awarded a man with an anxiety disorder $450,000 after his employer failed to heed his warnings about celebrating his birthday. "I think the significance for employers is that they need to understand that they shouldn't make assumptions about individuals with mental health issues. She said the company stands by its decision and told the website: "My employees de-escalated the situation to get the plaintiff out of the building as quickly as possible while removing his access to the building, alerting me and sending out security reminders to ensure he could not access the building, which is exactly what they were supposed to do."īut court documents show that a jury gathered on March 31 found Berling suffered an "adverse employment action" because of his anxiety disability and awarded him US$450,000.īerling's lawyer, Tony Bucher, said in a statement that his client posed no threat. Gravity Diagnostics founder and chief operating officer Julie Brazil told Kentucky news website, Link NKY, Berling was fired for violating a "workplace violence policy". "Big spending" company director awarded thousands in employment dispute. ![]()
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