LOUISVILLE, Ky. - A Kentucky jury has awarded a man $450,000 who sued his employer after he asked them not to celebrate his birthday at work — and they did it anyway.Kevin Berling told his manager at Gravity Diagnostics in Covington in 2019 that a birthday celebration would cause him immense stress.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 after the second attack.Berling alleged in his lawsuit the company discriminated against him based on a disability and retaliated against him for demanding a reasonable accommodation to it.Get your top stories delivered daily! Sign up for FOX 11’s Fast 5 newsletter.
And, get breaking news alerts in the FOX 11 News app. Download for iOS or Android.The jury returned the verdict after a two-day trial in Kenton County that ended in late March.