An epileptic, who suffered three mild epilepsy seizures on the job, and who was fired as a result has settled his disability discrimination lawsuit for $50,000. The employee, Chris Cherling, claimed that he was fired in violation of the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) by his employer, Buy Rite Thrift Store. The store's management decided that Cherling posed a danger to himself and others because of his epilepsy.
Source: Modesto (California) Bee
What happened that was wrong here? It appears that the employer leaped to the conclusion that the employee, because of his epilepsy, would endanger either himself or someone else without any basis other than the fact that the employee was epileptic for this conclusion. The ADA requires an "individualized determination" regarding whether an employee can perform his or her job notwithstanding their disability. A couple of ways that this could have been achieved here would have been by requiring the employee to successfully pass a fitness exam or to provide medical certification that he could perform the job.
Lexington, Kentucky disability discrimination lawyer Robert Abell represents individuals and employees in disability discrimination cases; contact him at 859-254-7076.
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