Man awarded $450K after his employers held a birthday party for him, despite his request not to

Days before his birthday in August 2019, a Kentucky man requested that his employer not throw him a birthday party because it would trigger a panic attack, as he suffers from an anxiety disorder.

The employee, who was hired in October of 2018, said he did not want a celebration because “being the center of attention” can trigger his disorder.

But instead of listening to Kevin Berling, the company, Gravity Diagnostics, ignored his request and threw a surprise celebration for him during lunchtime on August 7, 2019.

The suit says that the company has a tradition of having birthday celebrations at the office for all employees. Despite Berling’s request, the company still surprised him on his birthday with a celebration in the office lunchroom.

Upon entering the surprise party, it triggered a panic attack and he left abruptly to spend his break in his car. Then, he texted his manager, frustrated that the company did not accommodate his personal request.

The day after the celebration, Berling was then called into a meeting where, according to the lawsuit, “he was confronted and criticized” for his reaction. “This confrontation triggered another panic attack,” the lawsuit notes. “At the conclusion of this meeting and because plaintiff had a panic attack, plaintiff was sent home from work for the remainder of August 8 and August 9.”

At the end of March, a jury awarded him a significant settlement of $450,000, finding that Berling suffered an “adverse employment action” due to his anxiety ability, as noted in court documents.

Julie Brazil, the founder and chief operating officer of Gravity Diagnostics, claims it was the other employees who were victimized.

“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,” Brazil told Link NKY.

She added, “As an employer who puts our employee safety first, we have a zero-tolerance policy and we stand by our decision to terminate the plaintiff for his violation of our workplace violence policy.”

Gravity Diagnostics has plans to appeal the verdict, Brazil said, based on “discovery of juror misconduct violating trial judge’s orders.”