CASE Paul Cronan and New England Telephone Company (A)...

CASE: Paul Cronan and New England Telephone Company (A) I. LEGAL CASE ANALYSIS A. Facts Paul Cronan was hired by New England Telephone (NET) in 1973 as a file clerk. In 1983 he was promoted to service technician. He worked in Needham, Massachusetts for 18 months before transferring to South Boston, Massachusetts. In 1985, Cronan suffered from medical symptoms due to AIDS-related complex (ARC), and missed work sporadically for 6 months. In June, 1985 Cronan requested a third leave of absence from work for a doctor’s appointment. Cronan’s supervisor, Charles O’Brian, demanded to know the nature of the illness, and assured him that the information would be kept confidential. Cronan informed O’Brian that the illness was†¦show more content†¦These policies stated that AIDS was to be treated as any other illness and an employee diagnosed with AIDS may return to work if he is not disabled. The policies were unanimously approved by management and added to the corporate policy handbooks. No formal dissemination of these policies to the rank a nd file workers was made. In June 1986, Cronan was informed that his illness benefits had ceased and he was now only entitled to long term disability payments, having effectively been terminated from NET. Due to financial hardships, Cronan and NET came to a settlement agreement in October 1986. Cronan was reinstated in his job and transferred to the Needham, Massachusetts facility. The financial details remained sealed. Immediately upon his return to work at Needham, Cronan was subjected to harassment and hostility from the coworkers. The workers filed a union grievance stating that the reinstatement of Cronan violated their safety and health agreement in their labor contract. The next day the coworkers refused to be in contact with Cronan and 29 workers staged a walk-out. B. Critical Legal Issues 1. Privacy – Cronan’s privacy may have been violated when the news of his medical condition was revealed to the line management and subsequently to the coworkers. 2. Discrimination – Cronan’s diagnosis of AIDS could conceivably fall under the category of a disability, therefore the treatment he received from NET and the coworkers couldShow MoreRelated Analysis of the Paul Cronan Case Essay3729 Words   |  15 PagesAnalysis of the Paul Cronan Case I. Legal Analysis, Issue 1 Issue: Does party bringing suit (Plaintiff – Paul Cronan) qualify under the ADA for disability? Rule: In Review of ADA and the principles set forth at that time, there are several relevancies to consider here. A disability is described as follows: â€Å"For purposes of nondiscrimination laws (e.g. the Americans with Disabilities Act, Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and Section 188 of the Workforce Investment Act)