Claims his arthritis is more painful if he stops moving, so mandatory lunch breaks don’t accommodate his condition
Kenneth Fox, an automation clerk for the United States Postal Service at an airport in Tampa, Fla., is suing his employer for forcing him to take lunch breaks, according to the Tampa Tribune.
Fox, 55, suffers from severe degenerative arthritis from his time in the military. He claims the pain and discomfort is tolerable when he is mobile and working but if he stops to take a break “his muscles begin to freeze up” and become very painful.
Fox says for years his supervisors allowed him to work through lunch but recently they made lunch breaks mandatory. When he complained, he was subjected to “further hostile and disparate treatment.”
Fox claims the mandatory lunch breaks violate his rights under the U.S. Americans with Disabilities Act. He’s suing for an injunction allowing him to forego the lunch breaks, which would be a reasonable accommodation of his condition under the act.
Fox, 55, suffers from severe degenerative arthritis from his time in the military. He claims the pain and discomfort is tolerable when he is mobile and working but if he stops to take a break “his muscles begin to freeze up” and become very painful.
Fox says for years his supervisors allowed him to work through lunch but recently they made lunch breaks mandatory. When he complained, he was subjected to “further hostile and disparate treatment.”
Fox claims the mandatory lunch breaks violate his rights under the U.S. Americans with Disabilities Act. He’s suing for an injunction allowing him to forego the lunch breaks, which would be a reasonable accommodation of his condition under the act.
