Woman Fired Over Son's Cancer Gets $185K

A federal court jury has awarded a western Pennsylvania woman $185,000 after agreeing that she was fired from her job because her son was dying of cancer, not because she violated a company policy.

The Erie Times-News says a federal court jury in Erie last week awarded $70,000 in compensatory damages and $115,000 in lost pay to 40 year-old Theresa Buffington.

She sued two years ago claiming Erie-based PEC Management II violated the Americans with Disabilities act for firing her in November 2010 because officials there believed her son's illness would affect her work performance.

The company had claimed Buffington was fired for violating a company policy.

But the jury agreed that Buffington was unfairly fired because of assumptions the company made about Buffington's ability to cope with her son's illness.

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