A man claiming he was fired because he had a disability can bring a common-law action based on the public-policy exception to the employment-at-will doctrine, the Virginia Supreme Court said in a decision handed down in June. The case, Bradick v. Grumman Data Sys., was filed after an employee was fired by his employer, a federal government contractor, after taking three leaves of absence for an illness. In moving to dismiss the suit, the employer argued that the Virginians with Disabilities Act provided the exclusive remedy for a discharge of this type. However, the Court determined that the VDA specifically exempted this employer from its coverage. Therefore, the statute did not abrogate the employee's common-law cause of action, and his claim could go forward.
Public Policy Disability Claim Allowed in Virginia
This article was edited and reviewed by FindLaw Attorney Writers | Last reviewed March 26, 2008
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