Is Farting Protected Under ADA?

October 6th, 2015. By LucyC

Guess we’ll be finding out. Yep—we finally have a farting employee lawsuit. But what about opera singer Amy Herbst, you say? (A precedent!) Yes, true, she was a farting plaintiff as well—but she didn’t get fired. This guy got fired.

So…is it a lot of hot air about nothing? No actually. At least not from the sound of it. This poor guy lost his job because he couldn’t stop farting, and so he did what any self-respecting person would do—he’s sued is ex-employer. And, in a show of solidarity, so has his wife—they both worked for the same company—a New Jersey pork roll maker. Let’s just skip the obvious puns here.

So the back story on this is, of course, rational. Richard Clem worked as a comptroller at Case Pork Roll Co. Before the random and fairly continuous farting developed, he was obese—having reached as much as 420 pounds. In an effort to remedy this situation he underwent gastric bypass surgery in 2010.

So far, so good? Nope, afraid not. According to his lawsuit, he is suffering from constant flatulence as a side effect of the surgery. Fantastic! According to his wife’s lawsuit, Louann’s husband experiences “extreme gas and uncontrollable diarrhea” that Richard himself said made him have to “sit on a toilet 24 hours a day.” Nice. Thanks for sharing. That’s gotta put a serious kink in any plans you have—and test your relationships.

“I couldn’t go out anywhere, go to the movies, to the market, you name it, without having to look for a bathroom everywhere I went.” You think?  It’s bad enough when you get the occasional episode on the bus or in a movie theater but—any place, any time? All the time? I’d be suing the surgeon.

Now—Richard is 70 years old. He admits that his condition puts him under constant stress and mental anguish since he “couldn’t control” his “very embarrassing” issue. “Some people think it’s funny but if you have to live with my condition it’s not very funny at all,” he told The New York Post. Yes—thinking about it for even half a minute gets tediously depressing, never mind living with it.

Anyway—cut to his boss—who at some point had obviously had enough of this. Thomas Dolan, the president of Case, claims that Mr. Clem’s seeming inability to control—in any way—his flatulence and the ensuing aroma—was obviating the scent of pork rolling. OMG. I so don’t want to know anymore…

And nor did Dolan, who filed a five-page complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission that was “full of inaccuracies ” and illegally fired him, Clem said. “He did whatever he could to get rid of me,” Clem states. Ok—not taking sides here—but can you blame the guy? Especially if you’re running a food processing plant. OMG. OMG. OMG…

According to my trusty source, The NY Post, Dolan allegedly told Louann that “This can’t go on. We can’t run an office and have visitors with the odor in the office,” and “We have to do something about Rich,” the lawsuit apparently states.

When Richard attempted to explain to Dolan that his breaking wind was simply a side effect of his surgery, Dolan told him, “Oh I don’t believe that, there’s gotta be something wrong with you,” Richard said. Well, yes, actually, there is something wrong with him—it’s medical and perhaps a medical solution should be sought? More on that in a minute.

So, on February 28, 2014 Richard let out his last fart on Case territory—he was fired. The same day his wife quit Case due to all the negativity directed toward her husband. And they lawyered up.

David M. Koller, the Clem’s attorney, said he is proud of the couple. “I’m proud of my clients for being brave enough to discuss something that is personal and perhaps embarrassing and they are looking forward to the court process and will accept the results of the judicial process,” Koller said.

Richard Clem is looking for the value of three weeks paid vacation and two years’ salary which he believes will total about $250,000. The Clems are suing under the federal Americans with Disabilities Act and the state Law Against Discrimination because of her association with her husband, who was 420 pounds and had an obesity disability, according to the lawsuit.

A post script here—since being fired, Richard Clem claims to have acquired the ability to control his gas, about 90 percent of the time, by taking medications that cause him to become constipated. Oh—that’s good. Let’s hope that doesn’t backfire. Pardon the pun.

Tags: ADA, farting lawsuit, Wrongful Termination

This was posted on Tuesday, October 6th, 2015 at 9:57 pm and is filed under Crazy Sh*t Lawyers See . Feel free to respond, or trackback. Read our comments policy.