No. In September 2026 the Massachusetts Appeals Court upheld a jury verdict for a police lieutenant who was passed over for promotion after he asked for, and received, accommodations for a disability. The court agreed that the jury could treat the accommodation request as protected activity and the lost promotion as retaliation, and it let stand awards for lost wages, emotional distress and punitive damages. This is an unpublished Appeals Court decision under Rule 23.0, which courts may cite as persuasive but not as binding precedent.
What happened
The employee had worked in the city police department since 1996 and had risen to lieutenant. In early 2020 he asked for accommodations for a disability, and the department gave him a separate office and later let him work from home. In September 2020 a captain position opened. He was tied for the top score on the civil service exam and was at the top of the list, but the commissioner left the job open for months and then gave it to the other lieutenant in February 2021. He later filed complaints with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (MCAD) and sued in Superior Court. The jury rejected his discrimination claims but found the city liable for retaliation and awarded $38,326 in lost wages, $150,000 for emotional distress, and $250,000 in punitive damages.
What the court decided
In Miller v. City of Springfield, No. 25-P-1070 (Mass. App. Ct. September 9, 2026) (Rule 23.0 decision), the court affirmed the judgment and the denial of the city’s posttrial motion.
The Massachusetts antidiscrimination law makes it unlawful to discharge or otherwise discriminate against a person for opposing forbidden practices or filing a complaint, and to coerce, intimidate, threaten or interfere with a person exercising rights under the law. G.L. c. 151B, § 4 (4), (4A). A retaliation claim has three parts: protected conduct, an adverse action, and a causal link between them. Mole v. University of Mass., 442 Mass. 582 (2004).
Protected activity. The court rejected the city’s argument that nothing protected happened before September 2020. The commissioner herself testified that the department made accommodations for the employee in 2020. The trial judge told the jury that asking for a disability accommodation is protected activity, and the city never objected to that instruction. Because it did not object, the city waived the argument that an accommodation request cannot support a retaliation claim.
Adverse action. Courts ask whether the employer’s action was substantial enough to materially disadvantage the employee. Psy-Ed Corp. v. Klein, 459 Mass. 697 (2011). The captain job paid more than the lieutenant job, and the back pay award reflected that difference. Being denied a position with greater pay can be an adverse action. Yee v. Massachusetts State Police, 481 Mass. 290 (2019).
Causation. The jury heard that captain vacancies were normally filled within days, but this one sat open for months while the employee, who had the top score and no discipline, waited at the head of the list. A human resources director also testified that there was always an underlying COVID issue with the employee. That was enough for the jury to connect the accommodation request to the lost promotion.
Damages. The court upheld the emotional distress award based on the employee’s testimony about the harm he suffered. Punitive damages require conduct so outrageous or egregious that it deserves punishment, not just compensation. Haddad v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 455 Mass. 91 (2009). The jury could find the treatment of a long-serving, top-scoring employee egregious or recklessly indifferent. Deliberate violations by public officials charged with enforcing the law carry heightened blame. Ciccarelli v. School Dep’t of Lowell, 70 Mass. App. Ct. 787 (2007). The punitive award was about 1.3 times the compensatory damages, a ratio the court found not excessive.
What this means for you
If you asked your employer for a disability accommodation, that request can be protected activity. You do not have to file a formal complaint first. If your employer later denies you a promotion, a better paying job, or other real benefits because you asked, that can be unlawful retaliation, even if your employer granted the accommodation itself. Here, though, the city never objected to the instruction on this point.
This case also shows that you can lose a discrimination claim and still win on retaliation. The jury here rejected the race and disability discrimination claims but found retaliation. Retaliation is a separate claim with its own proof.
What to do now
- Put accommodation requests in writing, and keep copies of every request and response.
- Keep records of your performance: evaluations, test scores, awards and a clean disciplinary history.
- Write down dates. Note when you asked for an accommodation and when any promotion, schedule change or discipline followed.
- Watch the deadline. A complaint with the MCAD generally must be filed within 300 days after the act of discrimination. G.L. c. 151B, § 5.
- Talk to a lawyer before you resign or sign any agreement with your employer.
If this is your situation, call Doubleday Law at (617) 575-2006 or tell us what happened. Deadlines for discrimination and employment claims can be short.
Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
