“Nicole Sutton, 22, filed the lawsuit on Christmas Eve in U.S. District Court in Illinois, where she now lives,” ifoAppleStore reports. “She is alleging a violation of the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA), and asks for front and back pay, employment benefits, interest, punitive damages of $300,000 and attorney’s fees.”
ifoAppleStore reports, “Sutton [says] …that her medical condition was improperly disclosed to Apple store personnel by the company handling her disability claim. Sutton’s lawsuit says that she ‘was in fact not mentally ill,’ that she was constructively discharged by Apple’s actions, and that she suffered ’emotional distress, humiliation and embarrassment’ because of the company’s actions.”
Full article here.
May whoever is in the right on this, win.
300 grand? Bitch still be crazy.
We’ll never know the outcome because she will be silenced…
one way or another.
questioning her mental stability would be tottaly approriate and actually a fiduciary duty in view of phsyciatric treatment.
It’s in the interests of all Apple customers and store consumers too.
Good. I hope she wins. That is something Apple Retail would do. I know first hand. They treat their retail employees like crap.
The Obama administration would replace Steve Jobs with this wack-job so no one’s feelings would get hurt! Lawyers don’t solve problems; they ARE the problem!!
Customer in Apple SoHo store: “Oh yes, I made an appointment with you today to show me how to transfer files from my Windows machine to the iMac bought a week ago.”
Nicole: “But who asked you to buy a Mac? Didn’t I tell you to buy an Acer instead you dipshit. Why are you bothering me with questions about Windows? Can’t you see the Apple logo displayed prominently outside the store front? We don’t do Windows dickface!”
Customer: “Have you taken your meds this morning?”
Nicole: “What? Are you implying I’m crazy to work in an Apple store? You’ll be hearing from my attorneys about a $300,000 suit!”
Where is the hue and cry over the loss of the employee’s privacy in this issue. And do not drag out that it might be important to know based on her job. It isn’t. Who among us would want details of our private lives and health shared with our employer? If her condition truly was germane to her employment, then it would be noticeable, without knowledge of any medical condition she may have had. Privacy is privacy, you do not surrender your right to it just because u have a job with the “mother church”. Get real people! If her right to privacy was violated, and she suffered as a result, then she is entitled to compensation, if a court agrees. And the amount of compensation will be for the court to decide, not us. What she is asking for may seem unreasonable to you now, but you are not in possession of all the facts. Considering the usual amounts that are bandied about in these kinds of things, her numbers are not unreasonable. Also, do not assume Apple is necessarily always right, or even if they are in any way to blame for this situation. It, in all likelihood, is the result of a poor decision at the local store level. It happens. We also do not know her performance history at the store. This will also come out in any legal proceeding. Until then, refraining from commenting on the merits of the case, or her personal motivations, is the best policy. If she was treated wrongly, then the issue needs to be addressed by Apple. If it is a specious claim, then that will be dealt with as well.
” Sutton [says] …that her medical condition was improperly disclosed to Apple store personnel by the company handling her disability claim”
Seems to me that the target of the suit should be the company who mishandled her case by disclosing info to her employer. She’s suing the wrong company!
A retail employee filling a discrimination law suit?!?!?
This stuff happens every day!
This isn’t news, move along.
The big thing here is that she will need to make the proof of discrimination. She will need a lot of documentation and witnesses.
Those kinds of racy comments that derail from a good conversation about the issue should be kept off the blog or removed.
Just another individual or corporation looking for a payday from Apple, get in line !!
I believe that Apple would do this. I’ve been a victim of them. They will screw you blind if you even appear incompetent. They don’t look out for their employees and will dismiss you if your not totally perfect and without fault.
“She is alleging a violation of the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA)”
aaaand
“Sutton’s lawsuit says that she ‘was in fact not mentally ill’
So which one was it? If you’re not mentally ill you can’t claim ADA laws were violated.
The plaintiff is 22 years old.
She got the job at the New York retail store in June 2008.
Only 10 months later, she took a four-month leave of absence.
Upon returning from leave, she was still employed, though not at the same position (which is perfectly legal and common in practice in America).
In November she applied for “genius admin” position, which obviously would have meant a promotion.
In December she was interviewed for the “genius admin” position.
In January her application for “genius admin” was denied. She claims she it was denied because “there were questions about her mental stability”.
She worked (and assumedly was paid) at the New York store from June 2008 until at least January 2009.
She then requested a transfer to the Chicago store because her parents live in Chicago. The transfer request was denied.
She then voluntarily left her position in New York and moved to Chicago anyway, hoping she would be able to secure a job in the Chicago store. She did not secure a position in the Chicago store.
I’m not sure this really makes a lawsuit…
steve32465:
Damn those high standards of excellence…
Ditto–Just another individual or corporation looking for a payday from Apple, get in line !!
Let’s see… “kept her in limbo without duties for several months, and denied her a promotion”
I wish I could sit idle at work, cash my paycheck and after that I’ll get promoted.
Let me try to understand this…
I file a disability claim but my employer should not know the reason the claim is requested??? Yeah, right!!!
If this flies, employers in America are so screwed.
She moved from New York to Chicago just to get a job at another Apple Store?!?!
Either she is crazy or is the most dedicated employee ever. Or maybe a little of both.
Cough, cough…….bullshit……..cough, cough.
She’ll get $30K and go disappear and then do it again at her next job.
@iGads
She is shootin for 300k because she probably wont be able to find another job any time soon now… though grocery stores will hire anyone.. so she has hope
@monoclast
-you’re an idiot. You obviously work at SoHo otherwise you wouldn’t know those details. You also are most likely an ASM (assistant store manager) and thus know you just violated policy by posting on MDN and could be fired. You probably will be served a subpoena for this case and you need to ask yourself this: how many Specialist have a bone to pick with management and would be willing to testify on her behalf?
@ everyone else who reads this:
-apple retail runs and acts like a totally separate company. Every retail store has it’s own work atmosphere and feel based on the employee’s demographic and who they hire. You customers get the same “experience” at every store because Apple does a good job making sure that happens but working from one store to the next is night and day. 90% of retail management at apple are retail “lifers” and unfortunately either aren’t well educated or just plain ignorant/irrational when understanding anything “not-retail.” I worked in 3 different stores for over 4 years and would vouch for this girl’s story because it happens. u of Apple’s retail staff is unhappy because they are all extremely underpaid and over-used. It’s bullshit they denied her a transfer. It’s also crap that retail is about paying your dues so of course after she took a leave they wouldn’t “promote” her eventhough she was probably qualified. Those stores foster a sense of high school popularity contests and if you’re not liked management will make up any reason to not let you “grow.” I left after 4 years finally because I found a good job and because even with a Master’s degree it took that long. I feel sorry for those like me still stuck working in Apple Retail because they have a lot more to offer this world than to get abused on a daily basis by customers and other staff. This thread NEEDS to be closed because no one has made an intelligent post accept @macaholic. I hope this case finally gives Apple Retail employees a platform and precedent to speak out. Cupertino and Apple corporate don’t give a shit about retail and it’s not the same. 85% of those hired in retail aren’t qualified to work in corporate and they know it. The rest of you othe retail employees all have similar stories and I’m sure smaller companies are worse because worse things go unnoticed. However the rest of the public needs to wake up because retail is retail is retail, even if it is Apple