Some manager mistakes begin with an attempt to help — and then land companies in court.
In this case, a supervisor supported an underperforming employee with attention deficit disorder (ADD), but his alleged “ADD brain” remarks kept her disability discrimination claim alive, proving even well-intended efforts can turn into legal risk.
In 2018, Amber Motko was hired as a case manager registered nurse for Geisinger Health Plan. Throughout her employment, Motko had problems completing essential job tasks, including patient documentation – a compliance requirement for the company’s federal contract involving Medicare and Medicaid Services. She also had problems getting to work on time.
Due to Motko’s ongoing performance issues, her supervisor frequently took a hands-on approach in managing her, often personally reminding Motko to get her documentation completed by an upcoming deadline.
Motko continued to struggle at work, and by the end of 2021, the supervisor met with her to discuss the problems and outline strategies to get Motko’s performance on track. At that meeting, Motko confided that she was having some personal issues and had recently been diagnosed with attention deficit disorder (ADD). She clarified that she was fully capable of and committed to doing a good job.
In February 2022, Motko missed two more deadlines – despite receiving five reminders about them. That documentation failure caused...
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