Everyone makes mistakes — even good managers. The key is correcting those mistakes quickly enough to avoid a lawsuit.
In one recent case, a supervisor called one of his employees by the nickname “Rain Man,” because he reminded the boss of the autistic in the movie “Rain Man.”
The problem: While he was employed by the company, the employee was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome, a form of autism. After that, he told his manager he didn’t like the nickname. The supervisor apologized and stopped using it.
The employee sued, claiming he was harassed because of a disability. Also, he was denied a promotion a few months before his diagnosis, which he claimed was because of his autism.
His case was thrown out. Why?
First, since the promotion took place months before his diagnosis, the court thought it was a stretch to argue his disability had anything to do with it.
Second, the manager apologized and stopped calling the employee “Rain Man” as soon as he complained. Therefore, the judge didn’t believe there was any ill will. In fact, the manager said he used the nickname because of the employee’s “quirky manner” and “moments of brilliance,” which reminded him of the film character.
Cite: Mangano v. Verity, Inc.
