Court Sides With Man Fired for Avoiding Workplace 'Fun'

A white-collar worker in France has won an unusual court case related to his firing. The man, identified in court documents as Mr. T, says he wasn't fired for job performance but because he wasn't "fun" enough in the eyes of his employer, reports Insider. He'd worked as a senior adviser for the Paris consulting firm Cubik Partners but was fired in 2015 for what the company called "professional inadequacy." According to court documents, Mr. T refused to take part in social activities organized by the company because he says they were filled with booze and crude jokes and behavior.

The case has been winding its way through the court system for years, but the Court of Cassation in Paris has ruled that it's not right for companies to force workers to participate in "end-of-week drinks frequently ending up in excessive alcohol intake, encouraged by associates who made very large quantities of alcohol available," per the Telegraph. The court found that the company violated the man's "fundamental right to dignity and respect of private life." The company must pay him about $3,100, and the court will rule later on his demand of an additional $480,000 or so in damages. (More France stories.)