Attorneys Patricia Rapinchuk and Jeffrey Trapani recently obtained summary judgment in Superior Court in favor of a Middlesex County manufacturing company. The plaintiff, a former employee of the company, had filed suit against the company for violations of the Massachusetts antidiscrimination laws and worker’s compensation act.
The plaintiff had worked as a die-press operator for the company before reporting an injury in June 2005. After a receiving a doctor’s note limiting the amount of weight the plaintiff could lift, they moved him to another machine. While the new work was within the parameters of the doctor’s note, the plaintiff complained that he could not complete the work due to his injury. He then received a doctor’s note stating that his injuries prevented him from working indefinitely. The plaintiff never provided the company with a note clearing him to return to work in any capacity. Nearly five months after he left work and with no end to his treatment in sight, the company terminated the plaintiff.
The plaintiff sued the company for disability discrimination and failure to accommodate and retaliation in violation of disability discrimination laws, and retaliation in violation of the worker’s compensation act. In moving for summary judgment, Attorney Rapinchuk argued that the company was under no obligation to provide the plaintiff with indefinite leave nor was there any position that could accommodate his injury. Attorney Rapinchuk also argued that the company used temporary employees for as long as it could while the plaintiff recuperated.
While acknowledging that summary judgment was strongly disfavored in claims of discrimination and retaliation, the Superior Court agreed with these arguments and entered judgment in favor of the company, finding that it was under no obligation to leave a position indefinitely open for the plaintiff and that there was no evidence that the company retaliated against the plaintiff.
Contact Info:
Patricia M. Rapinchuk, Esq. (413) 732-2301
Send Email
Jeffrey J. Trapani, Esq. (413) 732-2301
Send Email
Related Stories:
Attorney Patricia M. Rapinchuk successfully defended the City of Pittsfield and its former mayor against an employment discrimination complaint in the Berkshire Superior Court.
January 02, 2008 | Robinson Donovan, P.C.
Rapinchuk prevails in defamation and discrimination suit at Court of Appeals
October 17, 2005 | Robinson Donovan, P.C.
|
