Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly reports on a case involving an employee who was diagnosed with a bipolar disorder. The employee had worked for Liberty Mutual Insurance Company in a sales role for 37 years (including 11 years after being diagnosed with the disorder) and was terminated for failure to generate sufficient business leads. During his employment, the employee asked for accommodations for his disability including that he be assigned specific accounts and adequate support staff.
After a two week trial, the jury found as reported in MLW:
The jury found that the plaintiff was, in fact, disabled, and that the requested accommodations for the plaintiff would not change the essential functions of the plaintiff’s position. The jury found that the accommodations requested by the plaintiff were reasonable and would have allowed the plaintiff to perform the essential functions of his position.
After a two-week trial, the jury returned a verdict of $1.35 million against the defendant. The damages awarded were $500,000 for emotional distress, $439,315 for lost wages and $416,664 for lost pension and retirement benefits.
Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, page 9, August 21, 2006
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Good article. I wonder how you would accommodate a psychotic? All kidding aside; I wonder what accomodations were asked for.