He couldn't walk. He asked for leave. That same evening, he was out of a job
A long-serving Panasonic supervisor says the company fired him the same night he told them he couldn't walk and needed medical leave.
The worker had been with Panasonic Energy Corporation of North America since March 2017, based at its facility in Sparks, Nevada. According to a complaint filed October 1 in the US District Court for the District of Nevada, he suffered from gout - a condition that causes acute joint pain and swelling, and in his case made walking difficult during flare-ups.
The trouble had been building. The filing alleges severe flare-ups in May 2025 and September 2025. Then on December 3, 2025, another episode hit his right leg.
Five days later, things got worse. During his overnight shift on December 8, the complaint says, his foot became so swollen and painful he could not walk. He got permission to leave early.
That same day, according to the filing, the worker told Panasonic he couldn't make his next shift. He submitted a request for emergency paid time off, asked for medical leave, and sought to start the interactive process - the formal back-and-forth where employer and employee work together to find a reasonable way to accommodate a disability.
He also told the company he was in the middle of an acute gout attack, was extremely ill from his medication, and was experiencing a medical emergency, the complaint alleges.
Then came the termination. Later that evening - still...
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