A recent lawsuit brought against a convenience store chain, Wawa, by a former store manager highlights the potential complexity of employment disputes involving individuals with Tourette’s syndrome. The former employee, John Casalnova, alleges that the company demoted him twice following his diagnosis of Tourette’s syndrome, according to legal documents filed in New Jersey’s Camden County Superior Court. Casalnova, who has reportedly not exhibited involuntary outbursts of obscenities typical to some individuals with Tourette’s syndrome, sought assurance from Wawa that any potential episodes would be understood as involuntary. However, the company allegedly denied this request.
This case could be impacted by a recent legal decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in the case of Cooper v. Coca-Cola Consolidated. In this case, an employee’s inability to control verbal outbursts due to Tourette’s syndrome was deemed as inhibiting essential functions of the role that required interaction with the public.
The ultimate impact of these outcomes will largely depend, explains attorney J. William Manuel, on whether the alleged discomfort or offense taken by other employees was based on actual incidents or merely speculative due to the diagnosis. Legal professionals are closely following these cases as they navigate the particularly “tricky” dynamics of workplace accommodation for Tourette’s syndrome.
For the full details, see the original article on the New Jersey Law Journal.