Kentucky Man Sues Employer For $450K For Throwing Him A Birthday Party

Man Sues Employer For Throwing Him A Birthday Party He Didn’t Want

A man in Kentucky took his employer to court after they threw him a birthday party he didn’t want, due to his anxiety disorder, and the jurors sided with him. His employer now has to run him $450,000.

According to court documents, the employee had notified the office manager that birthday parties trigger his anxiety disorder.

The employee asked the office manager a few days before his birthday in August to not plan a birthday celebration like they did for other employees. On the employee’s birthday, the office ended up arranging a birthday party in the lunch room. The employee ended up finding out about the party while he was headed to his lunch break, which triggered a panic attack.

The incident caused the employee to “leave the office suddenly and spend his lunch break in his car.” The employee sent a text message to the office manager, asking why his wishes weren’t respected.

 

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The following day, the employee was called into a meeting and was “confronted and criticized” by the office manager about his response to the birthday party. That meeting then triggered another panic attack.

The incident caused the employee to “leave the office suddenly and spend his lunch break in his car.” The employee sent a text message to the office manager, asking why his wishes weren’t respected.

The following day, the employee was called into a meeting and was “confronted and criticized” by the office manager about his response to the birthday party. That meeting then triggered another panic attack. The employee ended up being sent home for the next two days, and later notified was being fired “because of the events of the previous week.”

The employee sued Gravity Diagnostics on the grounds of disability discrimination and retaliation. The employee said because Gravity Diagnostics didn’t accommodate his anxiety disorder, the birthday party and the events afterward caused him “to suffer from a loss of income and benefits and emotional distress and mental anxiety.”

The jury awarded the employee $450,000 in damages. $300,000 was for the emotional distress, while $150,000 was for lost wages.