A man who claims he was illegally fired from his new job at a Southeast Portland car wash because he has epilepsy is suing his former employer for $150,000.
According to his suit filed Thursday in Multnomah County Circuit Court, Seth T. Dahlberg was hired on June 10, 2013, to work full-time as an operator at Eco Car Wash.
Five days later, while on his break, he experienced a “minor” epileptic seizure that caused him to stare straight ahead, the suit alleges.
“…Although he was aware of his surroundings, he did not respond to his coworkers,” the suit reads. The suit states that after the seizure, Dahlberg told his supervisor that he was epileptic but that his seizures had previously been controlled by medication.
Dahlberg went to see his doctor, who prescribed additional medication, according to the suit. The doctor told Dahlberg she didn’t want him working around moving cars for a few weeks, until she could see Dahlberg again and determine that the new medication was working, the suit states.
The doctor also wrote Dahlberg a note excusing him from full-duty work at Eco Car Wash — and that note served as a “request for accommodation” under Oregon law, the suit states.
The suit claims that when Dahlberg called his supervisor to let him know what the doctor had said, the supervisor said Dahlberg’s request for accommodation would not work. The supervisor then fired Dahlberg, the suit alleges.
