Mathewson v. N.Y.S. Office of Mental Health

MEMORANDUM DECISION and ORDER I. INTRODUCTION On June 25, 2021, plaintiff Scott Mathewson (“Mathewson” or “plaintiff”) filed the present complaint alleging three counts of disability discrimination against defendant New York State, Office of Mental Health (“OMH” or “defendant”). On August 24, 2021, defendant moved to dismiss the complaint in its entirety for failure to state a claim under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure (“Rule”) 12(b)(6). That motion, having been fully briefed, will now be decided on the parties’ submissions and without oral argument. II. BACKGROUND In November of 2002, Mathewson joined OMH as an Intensive Care Manager (“ICM”).¹ Dkt. 5 (“Compl.”), 8. For most of his employment with defendant, plaintiff worked in Broome and Tioga counties. Id. 16. That worked out nicely as far as plaintiff was concerned, because he lived in Vestal, New York, only fifteen miles from the facility where he worked. Id. 22. Apparently, throughout his entire career with OMH, Mathewson suffered from Chronic Lyme Disease and Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome. Compl. 18. These illnesses allegedly caused plaintiff to suffer from recurring and debilitating fatigue, which he claims interfered with his major life activities of work, travel, and concentration (among others). Id. 19. At some point before November of 2018, Mathewson alleges that he asked OMH to allow him to adjust his work schedule so that his start time would be pushed back to 10:30 a.m., which he claimed would help him mitigate the effects of his illnesses. Compl.

17, 26. To hear plaintiff tell it, his physician recommended the flexible schedule to cut down on his stress, which would blunt the edges of his fatigue. Id.