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View Full Version : 5 year employee fired because of mental illness- can he sue?


mudweiser
Dec 3, 2009, 01:48 AM
Hi, I have a friend whom was working for this company for 5 years.

His boss was aware of his bipolar condition.

Due to his condition he is unable to wake up early. He tries his hardest, he gets up takes his pills and pushes his way through.

The problem was the he was late to work, various times.

He was an efficient worker and finished his tasks on time or even before the "due date".

However due to his "lateness" he has been fired-- but wouldn't his biopolar condition affect this?

Can he sue? What can he do? I just find it odd that he would fire him after 5 years for this. I don't know this is just a shot in the dark here.

He's not some lazy guy that makes excuses for his condition, I can vouch him for that, he is consistent on his meds and is generally a good guy.

Anywhozzils, if you know anything let me know!

Thanks!

SIDE NOTE:
-He has Bipolar II disorder

J_9
Dec 3, 2009, 02:04 AM
Muddy, don't know if where you live is a work-at-will area. But many places don't even need a reson to fire anyone these days.

Had he been warned about his tardiness at any time during the 5 years?

mudweiser
Dec 3, 2009, 02:16 AM
Yes his boss did have a talk with him. He did great for about 3 months and it would go down again. It was a cycle.

Not sure if this makes a difference but he takes 3 lithium pills a day and about 3 others.

As for his lateness it would vary for 10 min to about the whole day [eek]--- he says that he :"would stay up for 5 days its called hypomania, and u stay up for a long time and then u can't get out of bed for 5 days"[taken from MSN].

He lives in Ontario, Canada if that helps.

J_9
Dec 3, 2009, 02:59 AM
If he was hypomanic, it's very possible he was not managing his meds properly, or he needed an adjustment, or a change in meds. The meds are designed to avoid this.

Manic Depression, now known as Bipolar Disorder, is a cyclic condition, but managed properly, with the right meds and the right schedule, he should not have these cycles as often.

I know nothing about Canadian laws, but here in the States we have what is called work-at-will. That means that you can quit a job at any time with no notice, ORRR get let go from a job for any reason without notice.

As he was employed for 5 years, is it possible that the owner/manager let him go due to the economy?