A Lenovo employee, who was fired from his job after his bladder condition forced him to relieve himself in a lobby of his Times Square hotel.
As per reports, 66-year-old Richard Becker, a former salesman at Lenovo, is now seeking US$1.5 million from the US subsidiary of the Chinese computer giant after being dismissed for the wrongful wee, according to a lawsuit filed by him.
He accused the company of “discrimination on the basis of disability in violation of New York State and New York City human rights laws”.
In the lawsuit, Becker said that he had visited a bathroom five times during the business meal, but became “overwhelmed” with his bladder condition on the walk back to the hotel and forced to answer nature’s call in a vestibule located on a separate floor from the main lobby.
“A co-worker noticed Becker urinating and – out of apparent spite and malice – promptly reported him to HR, even though Becker’s conduct caused no harm to anyone whatsoever,” the lawsuit said.
Becker said he has been suffering from a chronic bladder condition since 2016 and is under the treatment of an urologist. The suit said Lenovo colleagues and managers were aware of his condition.
“No sympathy, let alone compliance with the law, would be forthcoming from Lenovo. Instead, within days, Becker was terminated by his employer, following a sham HR ‘investigation’ in which he was not even interviewed,” the lawsuit said.