Mammone vs. President and Fellows of Harvard College

On March 7, 2003, Harvard University terminated the seven year employment of Michael Mammone after the onset of a manic phase of bipolar disorder.  Mr. Mammone claims that he was terminated due to his mental disability and brought suit against the President and Fellows of Harvard College (University) under the Commonwealth's employment discrimination statute and Equal Rights Act.

The court granted summary judgment in favor of the defendant stating that the plaintiff's behavior, which was hostile to the defendants' business interest during a manic phase of his illness, damaged the plaintiff's ability to prove his status as a "qualified handicapped person" who would be protected by the Americans with Disabilities Act requirement for reasonable accommodation.

The plaintiff contended that the reasoning of Garrity that a handicapped employee who engages in egregious workplace misconduct can be held to the same standard as a non-handicapped employee who engages in similar misconduct, should be strictly limited to cases involving misconduct resulting from drug or alcohol dependence (as opposed to other handicaps). In the Garrity case, an employee's actions while drunk at the worksite, but not on duty, were sufficient grounds for termination, despite the employee's status as having a documented substance abuse disability. In the Mammone case, the court upheld the previous judgment and denied the appeal.