Kentucky man who did not want employer to throw birthday party awarded $450K
www.kiro7.com
Kevin Berling said he suffered a panic attack after learning about the surprise luncheon.

Guy told his job he didn’t want a birthday party because of his anxiety. The company threw him one anyways. Guy had a panic attack. The company fired the worker for his “behavior”. Worker sued and now the company owes him 450K.

  • Horsepaste [they/them]
    ·
    2 years ago

    It was reading these parts that did it for me:

    “Stealing other co-workers’ joy” “Workplace violence” “As an employer who puts our employees first” “My employees were the victims”

    So you placed your other employees’ ego and “morale” over your employee with disabilities. Welp

    • SerLava [he/him]
      ·
      2 years ago

      gonna go out on a limb and say it was less about employee morale, and more about a measly worker telling the boss what he should and should not do

      OOPS

    • star_wraith [he/him]
      ·
      2 years ago

      No matter how hard I try, I cannot convince the people closest to me that I don't want to celebrate my birthday.

  • DragonNest_Aidit [they/them,use name]
    ·
    2 years ago

    So this birthday party is literally just the "company pizza party" meme right? Employer substituting actual benefits or compensation with these stupid (and substantially cheaper) "team building" event?

    • Foolio [any]
      ·
      2 years ago

      In this case, it's likely something the owner does strictly for their own benefit of "making it feel like a family", no pretenses for the employees. Like a sketch from The Office.

  • SerLava [he/him]
    ·
    2 years ago

    Gotta love how every headline is 90's style tort reform propaganda

    • Wertheimer [any]
      ·
      2 years ago

      Thought for sure the link would be this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjyHGDtAgTg

  • D61 [any]
    ·
    2 years ago

    One hell of a birthday present.

  • barrbaric [he/him]
    ·
    2 years ago

    I haven't told anybody at my work my birthday. One coworker has taken this as a bit of a challenge, and is trying to narrow it down. Every year he gets one guess; if he's wrong, he buys lunch, if he's right, I buy it. Three free lunches so far, baby. :comfy-cool:

  • chicken_pizza [comrade/them]
    ·
    2 years ago

    that's why i love working from home

    the most i'll get on my birthday is some fake happy birthday on videocall

  • Wertheimer [any]
    ·
    2 years ago

    NYT :

    Mr. Maley said that the company had the right to fire Mr. Berling — a lab technician whose employment status was at-will, meaning he could be fired for any legal reason — because he had clenched his fists, his face had turned red and he had ordered his supervisors to be quiet in the meeting, scaring them.

    “They were absolutely in fear of physical harm during that moment,” Julie Brazil, the founder and chief operating officer of Gravity Diagnostics, said on Saturday. “They both are still shaken about it today.”