I certainly sympathize with the plaintiff in this case, but this has to one of the strangest lawsuits ever filed under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The AP reported an Iowan woman who “sought a job as an administrator at Iowa Methodist Medical Center is now suing the hospital, saying it failed to make accommodations for her shy bladder syndrome.” Jennifer Connor applied for the job “as an organ transplant financial coordinator with the hospital,” and her lawsuit alleges she was “offered the job June 22, with the stipulation that she take and pass a drug test.” The AP notes Connor was diagnosed with anxiety condition paruresis, also known as shy bladder syndrome, which means she is unable to “urinate in public restrooms or near other people.” She claims she masks “the sound of her urination” by running water or flushing a toilet, but when she reported for the drug test, she was placed in a room, asked to provide a urine sample, and did not have running water available. Nurses also added to her “anxiety by knocking on the door.” Her job offer was then rescinded.
The Des Moines Register reported the lawsuit was “filed under a 2009 expansion to the federal American with Disabilities Act.” The lawsuit claims, “While in the waiting room, Conner began to experience significant physical discomfort because she needed to urinate, but could not,” and, “She also began to feel increasingly anxious and began to cry.” Her attorney said “paruresis qualifies as a disability under the 2009 Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act, which was intended to place the legal focus more on steps taken by businesses than on the definition of a worker’s shortcomings.”
The Huffington Post and Daily Mail (UK) also reported on this story.
From the American Association for Justice news release.
