The California Court of Appeal today upheld the termination of a court employee who was discharged for directing threats of violence at coworkers, despite the fact that such threats were caused by the employee’s mental disability. The court ruled that an employer may reasonably distinguish between disability-caused misconduct and the disability itself when such misconduct includes threats of violence against coworkers.
In Wills v. Superior Court, the plaintiff-employee was a court clerk with the Orange County Superior Court. The employee had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder two years prior to beginning her employment. During her employment, the employee was required to take several medical leaves of absence to treat the condition, but had never informed her employer that she had bipolar disorder.
During the early stages of a severe manic episode in 2007, the employee made threatening comments to several coworkers. The employee then sent to coworkers a string of disturbing and/or threatening emails, videos, and voicemails during her subsequent medical leave of absence. The employee was placed on paid administrative leave after she was cleared by her doctor to return to work, and was terminated soon thereafter following an independent investigation.
The employee filed suit, alleging that her termination was unlawful under the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA). In ruling for the employer, the court held that FEHA authorizes employers to distinguish between disability-caused misconduct and the disability itself “in the narrow context of threats or violence against coworkers.” As a result, the employer had a legitimate, non-discriminatory reason for terminating the employee based on misconduct involving threats or violence against coworkers.