$200,000 for Denied Restroom Break

An Albertsons checker had cancer treatment that hurt her salivary glands and requested accommodation. Albertsons relaxed its rule against checkers drinking anything (Have you noticed Albertsons checkers don't drink anything while checking?) and let her drink water while she checked out customers. Albertsons also agreed she could go to the restroom when she needed, sometimes as frequently as every 45 minutes.

One night a new manager who knew nothing about the checker's condition was on duty. The checker asked the manager for permission to go to the restroom. He was the only other Albertsons employee who could take her place, and since he was busy in the stockroom, he asked her to wait. This happened twice more. At no time did the checker tell the manager about her medical condition or that Albertsons said she could have frequent restroom breaks. Finally, she urinated over herself at the checkstand.

She sued Albertsons, alleging failure to provide reasonable accommodation for her disability as required by the California Fair Employment and Housing Act, and the jury awarded her $200,000 for emotional distress. Albertsons appealed, saying the employee's failure to tell the new manager about her condition meant the employee had failed to engage in the "iterative process", but the court disagreed holding the iterative process is a separate requirement from the requirement to accommodate. Albertsons also appealed, saying a single failure to accommodate did not justify damages, but the appellate court disagreed holding one failure is all a plaintiff needs to prove. Albertsons finally appealed, saying the harm was trivial, but the appellate court disagreed, saying the jury's award of $200,000 indicates it wasn't trivial. (How's that for circular reasoning?) The appellate decision is A.M. v. Albertsons, 178 Cal. App. 4th 455 (Sept. 18, 2009).

Here's what I think:
1. Companies need to tell every new manager which employees get what accommodation.
2. That's too much money for the harm that resulted.
3. Our bread and milk are going to cost even more, now.
4. When I see a fidgety checker jumping up and down, I'll say "Take a break; I won't tell".

What do you think?