Job-Related Stress Failed to Give Rise to Disability Discrimination Claim

In Domenech v. New York City Employees’ Ret. Sys., No. 15CV2521ILGPK, 2016 WL 2644892, at *5 (E.D.N.Y. May 9, 2016), the court held that plaintiff failed to salt are a disability discrimination claim. From the decision:

The plaintiff alleges that the transfer from one unit to another caused her to develop severe anxiety. She asserts that by denying her requests to return to her previous unit, the defendant failed to accommodate her anxiety and thereby violated the ADA. But “[j]ob-related stress—particularly that caused by working with a particular supervisor—is not considered a disability under the ADA.” Xinwa Chang v. MetroPlus Health Plan, 2014 WL 842635, at *6 (S.D.N.Y. Mar. 4, 2014) aff’d, 590 Fed.Appx. 74 (2d Cir. 2015) (quoting Thompson v. Fed–Reserve Bank of N.Y., 2004 WL 330243, at *8 (S.D.N.Y. Feb. 23, 2004)) (brackets in original). This is particularly true where, as here, Plaintiff admits that her job performances was still “good” despite the anxiety. See Schneiker v. Fortis Ins. Co., 200 F.3d 1055, 1062 (7th Cir.2000) (“Standing alone, a personality conflict between an employee and a supervisor—even one that trigger’s the employee’s depression—is not enough to establish that the employee is disabled, so long as the employee could still perform the job under a different supervisor.”). Therefore, the plaintiff fails to state a claim under the ADA.

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