A 6-foot-2, 360-pound man is suing a New York City library for $4.6 million after he said he was forced to sit at a desk too small for him. William Martin alleged that he suffered emotional distress at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library when he was intentionally assigned the desk and his complaints were ignored in order to show him “who was boss,” according to The Independent. In a lawsuit filed earlier this month, Martin said that he “requested a service desk with the appropriate and necessary accommodations, such as sufficient leg room and even countertop” as early as October 2021. However, the higher-ups at the library refused to intervene. After he again raised the complaint in June 2023, Martin said that a supervisor rearranged the July schedule to “dramatically increase” the time he spent at the desk. “Thus, the SNFL apparently retaliated by forcing William to do exactly the one thing he knew detrimental to his health and safety,” according to Martin’s complaint. Martin, who is suing for workplace harassment and discrimination, said that being made to work at the desk had led him to develop anxiety and depression.
