The American Spectator : The Spectacle Blog : Yeah, I Bet a Slew of Bridge Workers Came Down with Acrophobia This Morning

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The Spectacle Blog

Yeah, I Bet a Slew of Bridge Workers Came Down with Acrophobia This Morning

By Shawn Macomber on 6.6.11 @ 10:47AM

The Seventh Circuit said a bridge worker with fear of heights can proceed with his suit contending the Illinois Department of Transportation should have done more to accommodate his wish to work only on those bridge maintenance tasks that did not leave him in an overly exposed position. It also said a jury could reasonably find IDOT was improperly eager for the plaintiff to depart because it regarded him as “annoying” and because he had had frictions with other employees, as when he said of one co-worker, “Sometimes I would like to knock her teeth out.”

View all comments (7) | Leave a comment

LarryK| 6.6.11 @ 11:16AM

As Super Chicken always said to Fred,
"Besides Fred, you knew the job was dangerous when you took it."

Only Republican at Woodstock| 6.6.11 @ 12:38PM

Hey, Larry - maybe this guy needs some of SuperChicken's super sauce to get back to work. Of course, he may have too much acquaintance with Jack Daniel's super sauce already. (Or maybe that was the judges who made this stupid call.) Nice to know someone else remembers Super Chicken. Of course, what's embarassing is, I was in college when he was on TV.

Jack B| 6.6.11 @ 11:49AM

Wow, just WOW. Only in the America of 2011 could a worker even get past first base on this one. Lemme see, I work for Walgreen's and I have a fear of pills. Can I expect 'reasonable' accommodation to be assigned work where I'm not exposed to the pills?

BD57| 6.6.11 @ 12:10PM

@Jack: "assigned work as a pharmacist ...."

Big Java| 6.6.11 @ 12:43PM

"...a bridge worker with a fear of heights." I suppose the worker was unaware that bridges tend to be tall.

David W| 6.6.11 @ 1:03PM

Was this guy the "Adrian Monk" of bridge workers?

Warrior| 6.6.11 @ 5:22PM

The ramifications are endless. Police officers that fear violence will now only patrol neighborhoods without violent crimes. Fire Fighters who have a fear of being burned can only use hoses on fire from a distance of 50 yards. Military members with a fear of weapons can be removed from any combat operations.