Wyoming Judge Reduces $1.2M Award in Wyoming Disability Case

A Wyoming federal judge has reduced a $1.2 million jury award to a Gillette mechanic fired after he returned to work after open heart surgery.

Chief Federal Judge Nancy Freudenthal says Robert G. Bush should only get $330,000 from Casper-based Wyoming Machinery Company.

The Casper Star-Tribune reported that Freudenthal cited a federal law that caps compensatory damages for companies with more than 500 workers at $300,000. Freudenthal said Bush should get that amount plus $30,000 in back pay.

Bush was out for six months after open-heart surgery in 2006 and his doctor told him to return to “light duty”. Bush said he suffered a mild heart attack on his second day back but the company said he only had a muscle problem.

Bush’s lawyer plans to ask Freudenthal to reconsider.