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PENNSYLVANIA RECORD

Friday, March 29, 2024

Recovering alcoholic claims illegal treatment and firing

Dhorowitz

HARRISBURG - A Florida resident filed suit against a New York City-based firm claiming violation of employment law in a 2012 series of alleged actions that he claims were orchestrated in retaliation for him being a recovering alcoholic.

John Flathmann of Pompano Beach, Fla., sued Computer Generated Solutions in the U.S. District Court Middle District of Pennsylvania on July 6, claiming disability discrimination by his employer throughout 2012 following a detainment across international borders.

According to court documents, the plaintiff disclosed to defendant’s human resources department during his February 2012 hiring interview that he was and continues to be a recovering alcoholic.

The suit states that at no point during his employment did the plaintiff begin drinking and that when he was required to travel to Canada on business in late April 2012, he was denied entry due to a previous D.U.I. charge.

Flathmann alleges that his supervisor responded by calling him a drunk, then systematically eliminating his work and otherwise creating obstacles to his continued employment. When the plaintiff reported the actions to HR in June and again in August 2012, he was told to resolve it himself, the suit says.

Maintaining that the defendant continued to sabotage his work, the plaintiff avers that his supervisor fired him on or about Sept. 14, 2012. The suit states that retaliation and dismissal were based on his perceived and/or actual disability and his legally protected complaints, in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act.

Alleging a hostile work environment, Flathmann seeks monetary damages, attorney’s fees, and court costs. He is represented by Daniel Horowitz of Swartz Swidler in Cherry Hill, N.J.

U.S. District Court Middle District of Pennsylvania Case 1:15-cv-01318-JEJ.

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