The City Attorney’s Office is taking to task the key claims in a former Department of Water and Power employee’s lawsuit, including that he was a victim of age and disability discrimination when he was terminated earlier this year.
Plaintiff Brett A. MacDonald, now 73, was hired in February 1982 as a duplicating and mailing equipment repairman and three years later he hurt his back while lifting a film development machine, according to his Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit, which is being challenged in multiple ways in court papers filed Friday by the City Attorney’s Office.
“Plaintiff’s … cause of action for discrimination fails … because plaintiff has failed to assert that he could perform the essential functions of his position with or without an accommodation,” according to court papers filed by the City Attorney’s Office.
MacDonald’s allegation he was subjected to hostile work environment harassment due to his age and disability because he cannot show he experienced any “extreme or outrageous conduct,” the City Attorney’s Office further maintains in its court papers.
A hearing on the defense motion is scheduled Aug. 29.
MacDonald maintains his back injury resurfaced every few years, including in September 2019 when he and some co-workers were riding in a freight elevator in September 2019 that dropped half a floor and suddenly stopped. The plaintiff went on medical leave for two months and returned to work with a work restriction preventing him from lifting anything heavier than 40 pounds and directing him to stand and stretch every 30 minutes, according to the suit.
But after only two weeks, MacDonald was asked to lift items heavier than 40 pounds, exasperating his condition. so he provided a doctor’s note modifying his lifting limit to 0 pounds, the suit filed June 21 states.
Due to coronavirus safety protocols, the DWP in early 2021 requested that employees over the age of 65 not report to work until on Jan. 31, 2022, according to the suit, which further states that MacDonald returned with a new lifting restriction limit of 15 pounds.
Management told MacDonald the new lifting limit was unacceptable, even though the plaintiff told them that he could still do such duties as recycling, putting caution tape around work areas and assisting colleagues with their projects, the suit states.
MacDonald believed he was being “pushed out not only because of his disability, but also his age,” the suit states.
A DWP employee confirmed MacDonald’s fears by telling him in early February that he was no longer on the payroll department list, according to the suit.