Posts Tagged ‘ Wrongful Termination ’

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
Posted in Crazy Sh*t Lawyers See | 3 Comments »

What’s in a Paint Name? Discrimination, Wrongful Termination, Retaliation…and more!

August 6th, 2014. By AbiK

It’s not often that jurisprudence and home decor intersect. After all, let’s face it, one look at most attorney offices will tell you to look elsewhere for interior design inspiration. But this case—brought to us all compliments of a Mr. Clinton Tucker—is sure to rock the very foundation of the home improvement industry (not).

But I’m ahead of myself so let’s back things up a bit…

Clinton Tucker is a former Benjamin Moore employee who has filed a complaint in Essex County Court (NJ) alleging that the paint company fired him after he repeatedly complained about the “despicable and racially insulting paint colors called ‘Clinton Brown’ and ‘Tucker Chocolate.'” Tucker Chocolate, for those who don’t have a bedside copy of “Paint and Coating News“, is a paint color in the Benjamin Moore historical Williamsburg collection. In the filing, Clinton Tucker refers to himself as an African-American homosexual male—btw, fwiw—and he’s seeking damages for discrimination, retaliation and a hostile work environment.

Without going too deeply into this one, it sounds like a classic “you say ‘to-MAY-to’, I say ‘to-MAH-to'” type of case—you know, where it’s a matter of individual perception. After all, Clinton Brown sounds more to me like the shade of something Hillary (as in Clinton, as in the more caucasion-looking woman who may be running for President) would’ve asked Ralph Lauren to whip up in silk faille for some fete or soiree in the State Dining Room.

But no, Clinton Tucker, being African-American, apparently sees this quite differently—almost as if the Benjamin Moore design team named the Clinton Brown shade with only Mr. Tucker himself in mind! And of course, that same team looked no further than Mr. Tucker for the inspiration in naming their other brown color, “Tucker Chocolate”—coincidence? Hell no—and it HAD to be a racial slur…Never mind that the Williamsburg collection also has a Tucker Orange and Tucker Gray…where’s a gray-haired octogenarian filing a paint name discrimination suit when you need him/her?? Where the heck is the AARP on THIS one, huh??

Oh wait a minute—was that Tucker thing some sort of theme? Why yes it was—for a certain St. George Tucker. THIS Tucker (1752-1827) wound up in Virginia (funny, that’s where Williamsburg is!) by way of Bermuda to become a lawyer (who knew?). Here’s another funny thing—according to just about every online source that was checked for this post, St. George Tucker ‘urged for the abolishment of slavery’. Yes, he authored a pamphlet, “A Dissertation on Slavery: With A Proposal for the Gradual Abolition of It in the State of Virginia“.

So here’s the plot line for this lawsuit so far: Benjamin Moore develops a wide range of paint colors under the umbrella “Williamsburg”. In it, there are at least three colors named after, or in honor of, St. George Tucker—a seemingly respectable Virginian. While St. George Tucker—a would-be abolitionist—is rolling in his grave, a modern-day Clinton Tucker (no known relation to St. George) is suing Benjamin Moore claiming that the paint named for a white pro-abolition dude was actually some inside joke (ha-ha) meant as a racial slur. Are you still with me?

Well, perhaps the real story here is this excerpt from the filing that was re-printed at Courthouse News:

“Tucker claims that “despite his value, accomplishments and productivity for the company, the plaintiff was repeatedly denied opportunities for promotion and growth by BM due to his race” and that “despite spending countless hours in the office, the plaintiff was only getting paid for a 40-hour week…Tucker claims that Benjamin Moore eventually wrongfully terminated him in March 2014, but “retained Tucker’s two white, blonde-haired and blue-eyed subordinates.”

According to Tucker’s LinkedIn profile, he started at BM in June 2011—so he was there for 2 years, 9 months. And, according to a recommendation he received (see below), he actually had been promoted. The recommendation also makes you wonder if those “countless hours” were required, or just Tucker’s regular M.O…

“Clinton is the guy you want on your team when you need results. NO is just not an option. He will dig deep for data and map out a solution or track down an answer while jumping hurdles to do it. As part of the Digital Marketing team he brought a deep analysis of our data that we hadn’t seen before that drove results across all of our digital properties. His expertise in eCommerce helped set the stage for future growth and Clinton demonstrated leadership qualities well deserving of the promotion he received.” – Lisa Sharp, Digital Manager at SRSoft, who previously indirectly managed Clinton at BM

Regardless, if this has any legs, I’m thinking of letting my friend—the one who consistently robs the cradle, so to speak—know that she may have to find a lawyer and file a discrimination suit…Benjamin Moore also has a paint named “Cougar Brown”.

 

Tags: Benjamin Moore, Clinton Tucker, Discrimination, Retaliation, Totally Tortelicious, Wrongful Termination
Posted in Emerging Issues, Totally Tortelicious | No Comments »