When it comes to retaliation claims, severity counts

Description

Abstract: A postal worker taking medication for schizoaffective disorder faced insults from his supervisors due to his slow work pace, which was induced by the medication. As this article describes, he eventually resigned, and then sued. After losing two claims at the district court level, he appealed the claim of retaliatory harassment leading to constructive discharge. While the First Circuit sympathized, it ruled that he couldn’t establish his prima facie claim because the actions against him did not meet the standard of “materially adverse.” Alvarado v. Donahoe, No. 11-1686, July 19, 2012 (1st Cir.)