Cancer. The word alone evokes strong emotions. A cancer diagnosis affects everyone differently. Many people wonder how they will manage treatment and work. They ask themselves: What do I tell my boss? Should I take time off work for treatment? How will I pay my bills? Importantly, cancer can be considered a disability, meaning an employee who tells his or her employer about a cancer… Read More
Category Archives: Disability Discrimination
Jury Awards $2M to Fiedler Law Firm Client Retaliated Against by The State of Iowa
On Wednesday afternoon, a Polk County jury returned a $2,000,000 verdict in favor of former Iowa State Penitentiary Corrections Officer, Kristine Sink. After a decade-long battle of standing up to various civil rights abuses at the penitentiary, the jury found that the State of Iowa and the Iowa Department of Corrections illegally retaliated against Kristine and failed to accommodate her disabilities. Kristine started working at… Read More
Iowa Jury Awards $4.5 Million to F&T Client
A POWESHIEK COUNTY JURY FOUND THAT GRINNELL REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER (GRMC) AND TWO OF ITS ADMINISTRATORS DISCRIMINATED AGAINST FIEDLER & TIMMER CLIENT GREGG HAWKINS, A 38-YEAR EMPLOYEE, BASED ON HIS AGE AND DISABILITY (CANCER) AND RETALIATED AGAINST HIM WHEN HE OPPOSED THE DISCRIMINATION. THE JURY’S VERDICT SURPASSES $4.5 MILLION. F&T lawyers Brooke Timmer, Nate Borland, and Amy Beck represented Gregg during the 10-day jury at… Read More
Court of Appeals Upholds Nearly $1M Judgment for F&T Client
F&T LAWYERS PREVAIL IN APPEAL BY STATE OF IOWA AND IOWA DNR. COURT OF APPEALS AFFIRMS NEARLY $1M JUDGMENT FOR F&T CLIENT IN DISABILITY DISCRIMINATION CASE. In August 2015, F&T attorneys Brooke Timmer and Whitney Judkins went to trial in a disability discrimination case against the State of Iowa and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. We wrote about the trial and our client, John… Read More
Judge: Hy-Vee Discriminated against Blind Applicant
Congratulations to our client Sandy Braaksma! On Monday, February 15, 2016, Polk County District Court Judge Rebecca Goodgame Ebinger entered judgment against Hy-Vee, Inc. for discriminating against Sandy because she’s blind. In 2014, Sandy applied for a job as a dishwasher at Hy-Vee’s Market Grille in Chariton, Iowa. Even though she had 3 ½ years’ experience working in restaurants, Hy-Vee told Sandy she “didn’t have… Read More
Judge Orders Iowa DNR To Stop Discriminating Against Disabled Employees
This morning, Polk County District Court Judge Robert Hanson ordered the Forestry Bureau of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources to “cease and desist from discriminating on the basis of disability.” The order follows a jury verdict that found that the DNR discriminated against John Vetter, a 36-year employee, on the basis of his disability when the agency fired him on August 23, 2013. The… Read More