A few weeks ago, a rare thing occurred for the HR world — an employment law story went viral.
A jury awarded a Kentucky man $450,000 after his employer, Gravity Diagnostics, failed to stop staff from throwing a birthday party for him in August 2019. According to the complaint, the plaintiff informed his manager of his anxiety disorder five days ahead of time and requested no celebration, as he knew birthday parties triggered his anxiety.
The plaintiff’s manager allegedly forgot to relay the message, resulting in a lunchtime celebration — and the plaintiff experiencing a subsequent panic attack. He spent his lunch break in his car and sent his manager a text, confronting her for failing to accommodate his request, the complaint said.
