Jury awards US$450,000 to employee who declined birthday party

LOUISVILLE, KY. —
A Kentucky jury has awarded a man US$450,000 who sued his employer after he asked them not to celebrate his birthday at work — and they did it anyway.

Kevin Berling, a 2019 Gravity Diagnostics employee in Covington, stated that he would be extremely stressed if he had to celebrate his birthday.

But the company didn’t heed his request, and Berling suffered a panic attack, the Courier Journal reported. The next day Berling had another panic attack when his supervisor chastised him for “stealing his co-workers’” joy and “being a little girl,” according to a lawsuit. Berling was fired following the second panic attack.

Berling claimed that the company discriminated against Berling on the basis of a disability, and then retaliated against Berling for requesting a reasonable accommodation.

After a two-day trial that concluded in March in Kenton County, the jury returned their verdict. He was awarded $300,000.00 for emotional distress, and $150,000 for lost earnings.

Katherine Kennedy, an attorney for the company. saidIt continues to deny liability, and it is continuing to pursue its post-trial options.

Julie Brazil, the company’s founder and chief operating officer, said in an email statement to the newspaper that “with ever-increasing incidents of workplace violence, this verdict sets a very dangerous precedent for employers and most importantly employees that unless physical violence actually occurs, workplace violence is acceptable.”

Brazil saidHer employees were the victims in this case, and not the plaintiff.

Berling’s attorney, Tony Bucher, said once the jury got to meet his client, they realized the company’s claim that he posed a threat was far-fetched.

Berling had told his supervisor that a birthday celebration would bring back bad childhood memories surrounding his parents’ divorce. His request was not passed on by the supervisor, and the company complied. said.