The man told work not to celebrate his birthday. He was awarded $450K after the unwanted party.

A Kentucky man with an anxiety disorder asked his former employer not to celebrate his birthday because it caused panic attacks.

When the company, Gravity Diagnostics, ignored Kevin Berling’s request and organized a surprise lunch for him on August 7, 2019, he was saddened. A few days later Berling was fired, according to a lawsuit he filed in Kenton County court against the company.

On March 31, a jury awarded him $450,000. The jury found that Berling suffered an “adverse labor act” because of his anxiety disorder, court documents show.

The story begins in August 2019 when Berling told his office manager that he didn’t want to celebrate his birthday because it would trigger a panic attack. The company has a practice of celebrating in-office birthdays for employees, the lawsuit, filed in 2019, said.

However, on his birthday, the company surprised him with a celebratory party in the lunchroom. Berling had suffered a panic attack, the suit said. He quickly left and finished the rest of his lunch in his car and then texted his manager for not responding to his request.

The day after the celebration, Berling was called to a meeting where he was “faced and criticized” for his reaction, according to the lawsuit.

“This confrontation triggered another panic attack,” the lawsuit reads. “At the conclusion of this meeting and because the plaintiff had had a panic attack, the plaintiff was sent home to work for the remainder of August 8 and August 9.”

On August 11, that year, he was sent a letter telling him he was being terminated “because of the events of last week,” the lawsuit reads.

Berling sued for disability discrimination and retaliation.

Gravity Diagnostics did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Saturday.

Founder and COO Julie Brazil told NKY Link that Berling had been terminated for violating its “violence at work policy” and that they upheld their decision.

She also noted an increase in incidents of workplace violence, telling the station: “My officers considered the situation to get the plaintiff out of the building as quickly as possible while eliminating access to the building. his access to the building, alerted me and sent security reminders to make sure he couldn’t reach the building, which is exactly what they had to do.”

Tony Bucher, Berling’s attorney, said his client made no threats.

“I think it’s important for employers to understand that they shouldn’t make assumptions about individuals with mental health issues. Kevin is an outstanding employee who goes above and beyond. above against his employer and if they can take a step back, it will be clear that he poses no danger,” he said in a statement.

at Blogtuan.info – Source: nbcnews.com – Read the original article here