Verizon Retailer Defeats Depressed Manager’s Bid for Bias Trial

A former Cellular Connection LLC regional manager lacked evidence he was denied accommodation for his clinical depression and fired because he was disabled rather than for attendance issues, a Cleveland federal judge ruled.

The decision Tuesday turned on the murky lines of where an employee’s obligations under the Americans with Disabilities Act end and an employer’s duties begin.

A jury could find the company was on notice of Joshua Pennell’s disability based on his mentioning his condition, his supervisor’s knowledge Pennell was pursuing a medication treatment plan, and Pennell’s “spontaneous weeping during a business meeting,” the US District Court for ...