We all have the buddy who every year says, "Oh, don't throw me a party!" "Oh, I don't want any presents!" Everybody's got a guy like that.
My friends, next time he tells you that, listen to him:
Days before his birthday in August 2019, an employee at a Kentucky-based laboratory asked his office manager to not arrange a celebration for his birthday.
It wasn't the fear of getting older, but rather an anxiety disorder that can spur "panic attacks in stressful situations," according to court documents. The employee, who was hired in October 2018 by Gravity Diagnostics, did not want a celebration because "being the center of attention" can trigger his disorder, the documents state.
When the company threw him a lunchtime party against his wishes, it triggered a panic attack and he left abruptly to spend his break in his car. Four days later, after his office managers confronted him about his reaction to the party, he was fired from the Northern Kentucky company, court records show.
The dude's response?
He eventually sued Gravity Diagnostics, and this week, a jury awarded the man $450,000 in damages for his lost wages and emotional distress.
Now, I'm not a litigious man myself, but...
It does sound like the company handled the situation very clumsily:
When the employee left the office on Aug. 7 to spend the remainder of his birthday lunch in his car, he texted his office manager asking why she failed "to accommodate his request (to) ... forego the standard birthday celebration," his attorney states.
A day later after he arrived for work, he was called into a meeting with two superiors, who "confronted and criticized" him for how he reacted to the birthday party he did not want, according to the lawsuit. This caused him to have another panic attack.
He was sent home from work for the next two days and later apologized for having the panic attack. On Aug. 11 he received an email stating "he was being terminated because of the events of the previous week," the lawsuit states.
Seems like that $450,000 is a nice little compensation for this unpleasant saga.
In summary: Don't give someone a party if they tell you not to give them a party!
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