Ecoclimber
Senior Member
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This should will be interesting with possible national ramifications. Plaintiff with CFS sues the Seattle Times, a major newspaper, for violation of the ADA, American with Disability Act, for discrimination because of not providing reasonable accommodations for his condition, CFS. Noticed that he filed it in Federal Court rather than State Court, so this will have major national significance if it goes to trial.
http://blogs.seattleweekly.com/dailyweekly/2012/05/mark_rahner_files_lawsuit_agai.php
It will be interesting if his condition by his doctor is truly ME/CFS and not labeled psychosomatic. The doctor is a Naturopath...not good. http://www.elliottbaynaturalmedicine.com/Paul Dompe, ND.html. He did however, receive permission from the Federal Government Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to sue in Federal Court based on the fact that he had sufficient grounds.
Most of these lawsuits are settled before ever going to trial secured by a confidentiality clause between the two parties in the case. The question is whether the employer will defend this on the reasonable accommodation clause...my law school training is paying off. If so, then it would not pertain to, nor rest on the nature of his disability. Or, will they instead, go after the fact that CFS is not recognized as disease or illness that needs accommodation. If this goes to court and the defense calls in Dr. Debra Buchwald as an expert witness from the University of Washington, he could be in for world of hurt.
If the defense fights on the nature of the disability as an issue, then it could have national significance. If the plaintiff prevails and the Federal Court rules that CFS is cause by an underlying disease, then you could throw out the DSM-V manual that questions whether ME/CFS is psycho-somatic disorder. Hmm, interesting.
Eco
http://blogs.seattleweekly.com/dailyweekly/2012/05/mark_rahner_files_lawsuit_agai.php
It will be interesting if his condition by his doctor is truly ME/CFS and not labeled psychosomatic. The doctor is a Naturopath...not good. http://www.elliottbaynaturalmedicine.com/Paul Dompe, ND.html. He did however, receive permission from the Federal Government Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to sue in Federal Court based on the fact that he had sufficient grounds.
Most of these lawsuits are settled before ever going to trial secured by a confidentiality clause between the two parties in the case. The question is whether the employer will defend this on the reasonable accommodation clause...my law school training is paying off. If so, then it would not pertain to, nor rest on the nature of his disability. Or, will they instead, go after the fact that CFS is not recognized as disease or illness that needs accommodation. If this goes to court and the defense calls in Dr. Debra Buchwald as an expert witness from the University of Washington, he could be in for world of hurt.
If the defense fights on the nature of the disability as an issue, then it could have national significance. If the plaintiff prevails and the Federal Court rules that CFS is cause by an underlying disease, then you could throw out the DSM-V manual that questions whether ME/CFS is psycho-somatic disorder. Hmm, interesting.
Eco