A New York Public Library employee is seeking $4.6 million in damages after allegedly being forced to work at a desk that is too small for his 6-foot-4 frame.
William Martin, the plaintiff, filed the lawsuit in Brooklyn federal court, claiming that the years he spent at the small agency “traumatized” him. New York Post reported.
A library spokesperson said Martin’s case is “without merit.”
“We take staff accommodations and concerns very seriously and strive to treat our staff fairly and respectfully throughout the library,” the library said in a statement.
Martin, who has worked in the library system for more than 18 years, said his ordeal began in October 2021 when he was transferred to the first floor service of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library on Fifth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan.
The desk has a staggered countertop with a drop of approximately 30 cm. Martin called his workplace “constrictive” in the lawsuit.
“All I was looking for was a service desk with appropriate accommodations given my physical characteristics,” he wrote in the legal filing, accusing his bosses of discrimination and harassment.
His union intervened on his behalf at one point, causing him to switch to another agency within the library.
William Martin, pictured, sued the New York Public Library for not taking his large stature into account when assigning him a desk
Martin said he was given the cramped desk at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library in Manhattan, pictured
Two years later, in June 2023, a new deputy director was hired. This woman allegedly ordered Martin to return to work at the cramped desk on the first floor.
After Martin hired a lawyer and complained, he said his treatment at work only got worse.
The director allegedly “dramatically increased” how often she put Martin at the small desk, which he said was “detrimental to his health and safety,” the lawsuit said.
It was the principal’s way of bullying and intimidating him, the legal complaint said.
A few months later, Martin claimed he was “falsely accused” of falling asleep on the job, and later suspended.
This prompted him to request a transfer and medical leave due to his anxiety and depression, the lawsuit said.
Martin, who used to run a sports blog called ‘300lbsofsportsknowledge’, claims in the lawsuit that his ‘mental health has been damaged to the extent that…’ . . he trembled at the very thought of going back to work.”