Reports doing round on various media websites and social media platforms suggest that a Kentucky Man sued his employer for throwing him a birthday party in office, which he did not want.
Reports claim that the man identified as Kevin Berling who suffered from an anxiety disorder has been awarded $450,000 after winning the case related to the unwanted birthday party in office. According to reports, Berling had informed his employer in August 2019 that he did not want any birthday celebration because it would trigger a panic attack.
However, despite requesting his office manager that he did not want to celebrate his birthday, the company, Gravity Diagnostics, held a surprise lunchtime birthday celebration for him on 7 August 2019. The unwanted birthday celebration made Berling upset and days later he was fired, as per the lawsuit Berling had filed against the company in a Kenton County court.
Berling was awarded $450,000 on March 31, by a jury who found that Berling suffered an "adverse employment action" due to his anxiety disability, as per court documents.
Many people are thinking that Berling won $450,000 in compensation and damages, simply because his company threw him an unwanted birthday party. The truth is - Berling sued Gravity Diagnostics for allegedly discriminating him due to his disability, by firing him for his response to their surprise birthday party for him, against his wishes, because the birthday celebration triggered panic attacks and anxiety.
Moreover, Gravity Diagnostics founder and chief operating officer Julie Brazil told media that Berling was dismissed from his job for violation of a "workplace violence policy" and that the company stands by its decision, according to a report published on the website news.sky.com.
"My employees de-escalated the situation to get the plaintiff out of the building as quickly as possible while removing his access to the building, alerting me and sending out security reminders to ensure he could not access the building, which is exactly what they were supposed to do," she added claiming that there had been an increase in workplace violence incidents.
