In rare, good news, a California appeals court recently affirmed summary judgement for an employer who had no knowledge of an employee’s bipolar disorder when terminating him for violating the company’s workplace violence policy. Termination followed several incidents that caused supervisors and co-workers to be concerned, with the employee never raising a need for medical accommodation. That was only submitted after termination via a doctor’s note.
According to the court, employer knowledge of a disability is required for FEHA liability. When an employee does not disclose a disability, knowledge may be inferred only if the disability is the sole reasonable explanation for the employee’s behavior.
A word of caution – whether there is knowledge could be challenged. For example, if a supervisor has been informed by an employee, the supervisor’s failure to convey that to those addressing performance issues would likely not allow a claim that the disability was not disclosed. This is why our HR Generalists will ask questions to help identify whether anyone is aware of possible underlying reasons for performance problems.
