Interesting Disabilty Discrimination Case

From jsonline: In a decision that could have wide-ranging implications for disabled veterans, a federal jury in Alexandria, Va., on Wednesday found that the FBI discriminated against Oak Creek native Justin Slaby, who lost his left hand during a military training accident.
The decision means that Slaby, 30, who was stripped of his job as an FBI special agent trainee after officials concluded he could not safely fire a handgun with his prosthesis, will get his job back. He will be the first person with a prosthetic limb to serve as an FBI agent.
In addition, the jury awarded $75,000 in damages to Slaby, an Army veteran whose left hand had to be amputated after a defective stun grenade exploded prematurely in 2004. He also will receive back pay.
During an eight-day trial, Slaby's attorneys argued that Slaby, who is right-handed, can shoot well with that hand. They contended that FBI trainers were prejudiced against Slaby before he arrived at the academy, that he was subjected to extreme and unfair scrutiny, and that he was held to a standard not applied to other trainees.
Government attorneys countered that FBI trainers did everything they could to accommodate Slaby, but his prosthetic hand made him a danger to himself and other agents if required to fire a gun.
Slaby was elated at the verdict, which came after about 81/2hours of deliberations.
"There is no way anyone who's objective and has no biases could sit through more than a week of evidence and not come to the conclusion that the jury did," Slaby said after the verdict. "I never doubted this, from the first day I was dismissed all the way through to today in court."
Slaby, an Army Ranger who served two tours in Iraq and one in Afghanistan, was dismissed from the academy in 2011, just six weeks into the 21-week program. He filed the lawsuit the following year, despite being given a civilian job with the bureau's elite hostage rescue team....
Slaby attorney John Griffin said jurors likely were swayed by a "crucial" courtroom demonstration Monday, in which Slaby transferred an unloaded practice pistol from hand to hand and pulled the trigger with his prosthesis.
Griffin said the jury also likely was moved by Slaby's insistent testimony that disabled Americans — particularly veterans — should have the same opportunities as everyone else, even when it comes to sensitive positions such as FBI agent.
"There is a legion of people in his situation who have gone to serve their country in war and then come home and want to serve it in peace," Griffin said.
That the government was sanctioned by the judge before the trial began also may have worked in Slaby's favor.   http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/oak-creek-man-wins-discrimination-case-against-fbi-b9970879z1-218706531.html
If this ruling is upheld, look for a lot of disabled veterans and others applying for local police and deputy positions.