Employer Can't Fire Workers With Bipolar Disorder, Court Rules

In his time at Cottonwood Financial, Sean Reilly had overcome much. He had risen the company ranks from assistant to head store manager, and even won performance awards in spite of his bipolar disorder. Yet he claims that when he requested leave in 2007 to give him time to adjust to a new medication, he was fired.

A suit was filed on Reilly's behalf by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). It alleged employment discrimination under federal disability law, and on Thursday, the District Court for Eastern Washington ordered the financial services company to pay Reilly a total of $56,500 in damages. The finding is one several over the past decade in which a plaintiff diagnosed as bipolar emerged victorious in an employment discrimination lawsuit.