Wins $225G in Suit
'Shy Bladder' Capt. Wants Back on Boat

By ARI PAUL

A Department of Environmental Protection employee who was fired for suffering from paruresis, or "shy bladder syndrome," won $225,000 in damages Sept. 28 from a Federal jury in Manhattan, but is still struggling to get rehired.

The Chief-Leader/Adrienne Haywood-James WON THE BATTLE: Brooklyn-based attorney Ambrose Wotorson helped former Department of Environmental Protection sludge boat Captain Joseph Kinneary convince a Federal jury Sept. 28 that he was wrongly fired for suffering from 'shy bladder syndrome.' While winning back-pay, Mr. Wotorson is still fighting to get Mr. Kinneary his job back.

Joseph Kinneary was a Captain on a sludge boat who was required by Federal law to take random drug tests since 1992. Afflicted with a disorder that makes him unable to urinate on command, it would take him hours to comply with the urine test, when he was able to provide a sample. He told a city doctor about his condition and asked for an alternative testing method, but the city told him to "get over it."

'Ignored Own Doctor'

"Their own medical review officer eventually realized I had a condition that made me have a hard time," Mr. Kinneary said. "They ran roughshod over that. It's hard to figure their position."

Mr. Kinneary passed two city-administered saliva tests in 2002, his lawyer said, but the DEP did not accept the results and instead sent his case to a U.S. Coast Guard Judge, who suspended his permanent marine license. After his temporary license expired, the DEP fired him on March 2, 2004.

His attorneys argued that the DEP did not take his affliction seriously and should have offered an alternative method of testing. They also argued that when Mr. Kinneary's temporary marine license expired, he should have been given a desk job at DEP instead of being terminated. The eight-member jury found that the city violated the U.S. Americans with Disabilities Act and the New York State Human Rights Law.

Endured Pay Cut

The court awarded Mr. Kinneary $100,000 in back pay and $125,000 for emotional harm. Since losing his job in 2002, Mr. Kinneary has taught biology at SUNY-Farmingdale and a private high school on Long Island, making about $40,000, which is $30,000 less than what he earned as a DEP Captain.

"The jury sided with a sympathetic plaintiff and gave him a second chance," said Patricia Miller, the city's counsel in the case. "However, the Federal regulations state that a urine drug test is required. Safety is of utmost importance and, to protect the public, Captains must pass random drug tests."

Mr. Kinneary is seeking to reinstate several individuals as defendants in order to gain further damages, including attorneys' fees, as well as getting back his job, which he started in 1988.

'Deserves to Be on Boat'

"We think we've got a very good shot," said Ambrose Wotorson, Mr. Kinneary's attorney. "This guy deserves to be on a boat, doing what he loves to do."

Mr. Wotorson also called the city's attempt to appeal as a "waste of time."

Mr. Kinneary wrote a book about his career and his legal ordeal called "The Good Lord Hates a Coward," which was published in 2005. After that, other American seamen with paruresis called him to say they were having similar problems with their employers. The Maryland-based International Paruresis Association advocates that if an employer requires a worker with the disorder to take a drug test, it must offer an alternative to testing urine, such as taking hair or saliva samples.

"It's not just me," Mr. Kinneary said. "This has been happening around the country. They just steamroll over the small guy."