Higgins-Williams v. Sutter Medical Foundation (CA3 C073677 5/26/15)
I am almost positive that every employer has come across this type of issue before. You have an employee who for whatever reasons, cannot or will not work with his or her supervisor. This case at least makes it clear that if someone files a disability claim on this basis, the claim is without merit.
In this action for disability discrimination and wrongful termination, the court affirmed a summary judgment in favor of the defendant employer. The Court did so largely because the plaintiff employee’s alleged disability—an inability to work under a particular supervisor because of anxiety and stress related to the supervisor’s standard oversight of job performance—is not a disability recognized in California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA; Gov. Code, § 12900 et seq.).
