Case Discussion 9: Boston's Gourmet Pizza v. Childers, 910 N.E. 2d 809 Adam Childers worked as a cook at Boston's Gourmet Pizza (BGP). While on duty, he was struck in the back by a heavy freezer door, seriously injuring his lower back. As a result of the injury, Childers suffered from severe lower back, hip, and leg pain. He was treated with pain medication and physical therapy, but his condition worsened over several months. He wanted to have spinal fusion surgery, but the doctors recommended against it. At the time of the injury, Childers was twenty-five years old, six feet tall, and weighed approximately 340 pounds. Due to his age and weight, the surgery was extremely risky. Furthermore, Childers's weight ballooned to 380 pounds in the months after his injury, because he was depressed and inactive. Though he tried to lose weight by adjusting his diet, he failed. A doctor ultimately recommended that Childers undergo lap band or other weight reduction surgery so that either his resulting weight loss would alleviate his pain symptoms or his lowered body weight would allow him safely to have back fusion surgery. BGP admitted that Childers's back injury was work-related and did not dispute that treatment for the injury was covered under the applicable workers' compensation law. It argued, though, that it was not obligated to provide the precursor surgery that would allow Childers to undergo the treatment for his work-related injury. Rather, the employer asserted that Childers's weight problem was a preexisting condition that relieved it of responsibility for Childers's treatment under the workers' compensation law.

T/F 1. Because it is likely Adam Childers is an at-will employee, he can immediately be fired at any time with or without cause. 2. Childer's injury arose out of his employment, and the award by the Worker's Compensation Board to provide coverage of the lap band surgery should be upheld, because the combination of being struck in the back by a heavy freezer door and his weight likely was a substantial cause of his injury. 3. Assuming Childers is covered by FMLA, he is entitled to 12 weeks of paid family leave during any twelve month period to receive medical care and is entitled to return to his position as a cook. 4. If BGP has 15 or more employees, Childers is entitled to a reasonable accommodation that permits him to continue to work as a cook at BGP when he recovers from his surgery and can return to work. 5. Childers is not an exempt employee and is entitled to overtime pay for hours worked in excess of 40 in a 7-day workweek.