Tennessee court backs discrimination decision against Goodyear

JACKSON, Tenn. (June 22)—The Tennessee Supreme Court last month unanimously reaffirmed that the company discriminated against a worker at its Union City, Tenn., plant with Bell´s palsy. Goodyear, however, has filed a petition for rehearing before the court. Larry W. Barnes, who was diagnosed in 1989 with the nervous condition that affects facial muscles, was laid off in 1990 after receiving a poor job evaluation. Barnes sued Goodyear under the Tennessee Handicapped Act, claiming his disability was a factor in his layoff. A trial jury agreed with Barnes, but a Tennessee appeals court reversed the trial decision. Barnes then took the case to the state´s highest court.