Army vet wins $4.3 million verdict

[Bill Mattocks]

We were talking about a Walmart employee who was terminated for wearing a prohibited button. I felt that the employer was entirely within their rights to let him go. I said, however, that employer oppression does exist. And danged if an example didn't just pop up. This is sad, really. Why treat anyone like this, let alone a war-disabled vet?

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=200991023040

[FONT=arial, helvetica][FONT=Times New Roman, serif]Army vet wins $4.3 million verdict[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]
BY BEN SCHMITT
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER [/FONT] [/FONT]
[FONT=arial, helvetica]A former Michigan soldier who lost his hand after an explosion while trying to disarm a roadside bomb in Iraq in 2004 won a $4.3 million verdict today against the U.S. Army in a disability discrimination civil case.[/FONT]
[FONT=arial, helvetica]“He proved that the Army created a hostile work environment for him because of his disability.” said Royal Oak attorney Kevin Carlson who won the case along with attorney Joseph Golden.

The attorneys represented James McKelvey, 38, of Macomb Township, who said in a discrimination lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Detroit that a boss and coworker derided him as "the cripple, " refused to provide him with computer equipment and door handles to accommodate his disabilities, excluded him from meetings and told him to stay in his office cubicle for months on end.

He said superiors also objected to him parking in a handicapped space at the Warren tank arsenal even though he had a state permit.

McKelvey was medically retired from the Army in December 2005. Two months later, he landed a civilian job as a weapons specialist at the Army's Warren arsenal.

From the outset, he said, coworkers and supervisors harassed and ridiculed him. When he complained, he said, the treatment worsened. Eventually, he was told that if he didn't like the way he was being treated, he should find a new job, he said.[/FONT]

 

[Ken Morgan]

What the F*** is wrong with some people???

 

[Carol]

What the F*** is wrong with some people???

Considering the vet did what some say was impossible (suing the U.S. government and winnning - big) I'd say that many, many, people - including the courts - were thinking the exact same thing. :asian:

 

[Bill Mattocks]

Considering the vet did what some say was impossible (suing the U.S. government and winnning - big) I'd say that many, many, people - including the courts - were thinking the exact same thing. :asian:

It didn't hurt that he had Geoffrey Fieger representing him.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geoffrey_Fieger

Fieger is a local legend. And his brother was in the band "The Knack!"