Reporter Who Defecated in Yard Has Narrow Path for Wrongful Termination Case

In the article, “Reporter Who Defecated in Yard Has Narrow Path for Wrongful Termination Case,” featured in US News & World Report, employment attorneys weigh in on the likelihood of a TV journalist who lost his job after he was arrested for public defecation, winning a wrongful termination case.

Partner Pavneet Uppal said, "If he has some kind of disability, some kind of chronic bowel syndrome that makes his need to use the bathroom uncontrollable, he might claim that has to be reasonably accommodated under the Americans with Disabilities Act," he said, stressing that's the only partially open door he sees. "But my prediction is it would be unsuccessful, because even if he has that condition ... the accommodation has to be reasonable and allowing you to get away with public defecation is not reasonable."

Pavneet said an accommodation like hooking a portable toilet to the TV van may be unreasonable, while a reasonable accommodation might be assignments near a bathroom. But he doubts Lowe could claim the defecation was caused by a disability.

"This probably isn't a disability. He probably just didn't go to the bathroom [for] long enough and had to immediately go. That's just a common human condition, it isn't a disability," he said.

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