A federal jury has ruled in San Diego County's favor in the lawsuit filed by former San Diego County Chief Medical Officer Dr. Nicholas Yphantides, who alleged he was discriminated against and wrongfully fired due to a mental disability that surfaced due to the strain and stress of his duties handling the county's COVID-19 response.
Yphantides, a public presence during the early months of the pandemic known by many as "Dr. Nick," alleged he suffered from a long dormant bipolar disorder that resurfaced in late 2020 and early 2021, which caused him to experience and exhibit manic behavior.
His attorneys said those symptoms led him to take two medical leaves of absence and that episodes of hypomania caused him to act out in ways that were aberrant. They alleged he was fired without the county making any accommodations for his disability.
But county attorneys alleged he was fired due to several instances of "poor judgment" and inappropriate behavior.
Those included allegedly asking a fellow county doctor to help his friend get a COVID-19 vaccine appointment, despite Yphantides' friend not meeting the criteria for obtaining a vaccine at the time.
County attorneys also alleged he sent inappropriate messages to the mayor of San Marcos and other county employees who were his subordinates.
"The county takes its responsibility of protecting our employees and the public from improper conduct seriously. We have a zero tolerance policy for inappropriate conduct," San Diego County spokesperson Michael Workman said in a statement. "The decision to terminate Dr. Nick Yphantides was based on a careful consideration of the facts and our commitment to maintaining a workplace that is safe and free from inappropriate behavior. We are pleased the jury agreed."
While jurors found that the county knew Yphantides had a mental disability that limited his ability to work, they did not find he was able to perform his essential job duties even if he had been provided accommodations for his disability.
Jurors also found that the county didn't fail to take part in a "good- faith interactive process" with Yphantides to find out whether accommodations could be made.
