National Grid Hit With $3 Million Verdict in Remote-Work Lawsuit

Two National Grid USA dispatchers were illegally denied telework arrangements for the Covid-19 risks posed by their disabilities, a Brooklyn federal jury decided, awarding each man more than $1.5 million in damages.

National Grid violated federal and state law by not allowing Luciano Russo and George Messiha work from home because such an accommodation wouldn’t impose an undue hardship, the jury held. The verdict by the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York jury included $2 million in punitive damages against the electricity and gas utility.

Russo and Messiha each proved they were entitled to $1 million ...