Q: Why would legal advise manager to provoke a whistleblower w ptsd so they react inappropriately and legally terminate?
Seems like a huge risk for the employer if they were to get caught. Curious to know if there is a legal strategy behind giving the green light on IIED. interested to know (theoretically) why legal would encourage that behavior considering it is unlawful. Would an employer take that risk if there were substantial claims (and evidence) against them in hopes the employee doesn’t file a lawsuit? Would an employer take that risk if there was equal risk in damaging the employer brand/reputation if it went public?
A: Interesting question and sorry to hear you were poorly treated. Why would an employer take risks as you describe- in a hypothetical situation? One possible reason is that if you are claiming that you suffered a stress injury as a result of your work/workplace, that would be in the worker's compensation system rather than in court. Much less exposure, cost of defense. But this is speculation and based only on your description. I am just guessing at what happened and a possible motivation. Could be a number of other, legitimate reasons as well.
A:
An employer intentionally triggering an employee's PTSD would be guilty of disability discrimination. A recent case of an employer holding a birthday party over an employee's advance objection.
US man gets $450,000 after unwanted work birthday party triggered panic attack
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/apr/18/unwanted-office-birthday-party-lawsuit-panic-attack
While it is possible that an employer's counsel would give such advice, there must be very motivated to get rid of the employee. You should also realize the manager would be voiding the attorney-client privilege by voluntarily revealing legal counsel's advice.
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