A seasonal highway worker is suing the city for disability discrimination after, he alleges, his supervisors in Brooklyn mocked his bowel condition and refused to accommodate his medical need to take multiple bathroom breaks.
Joseph LaBarbera, 33, alleges his supervisors at the city Department of Transportation hazed him while his co-workers called him cruel nicknames like “Diaper Boy” and “S—ty Pants.”
And when he reached out to an equal employment opportunity investigator for help, he got the advice, “Wear extra diapers. Bring extra clothing. And try to find a hidden garbage can to avoid ridicule,” he alleges.
LaBarbera sued the city and two of his supervisors, identified in court filings as Guy Ferraro and Joseph Schiavo, in Brooklyn Federal Court last week, alleging discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act and retaliation.
“What Joseph experienced was deeply damaging, personally and professionally. He wants what happened to him to be taken seriously, and we hope this process brings some justice and helps restore a sense of dignity,” his lawyer, Melissa Vo, told the Daily News Tuesday. “We also hope his story encourages others facing discrimination to know that they can stand up for their rights.”
LaBarbera suffers from atrial septal defect, ulcerative colitis and rheumatoid arthritis, and the symptoms and flareups caused uncontrolled bowel movements and severe and chronic pain, according to the lawsuit.
He started his job as an assistant city highway repairer in May 2022 at DOT’s facility on Flatlands Ave. in Canarsie, and his condition started flaring up about two months later, the lawsuit alleges.
So he went to his district supervisor, Ferraro, asking if he could use his personal car instead of a work truck, since that would make it easier for him to find parking to get to a bathroom.
Ferraro’s response was, “You know, I wouldn’t let nobody else know this. You’re lucky you have me as your boss, because anybody else would just put you on a truck right now and tell you to s— your pants all over the place,” the suit alleges.
Ferraro still made him drive a work truck, the lawsuit alleges, and he would taunt LaBarbera by jingling the truck key in front of him while his co-workers watched. Schiavo, also a district supervisor, joined in on the harassment in March 2023, when LaBarbera was assigned to pothole duty, the lawsuit alleges.
Schiavo peppered him with comments like, “Don’t give me that bulls—t about anxiety or your stomach. You’ll do as I say. Remember, this isn’t a real job,” according to the lawsuit.
In 2024, LaBarbera asked for a transfer to a DOT facility on Staten Island, where he lives, to cut down on his commute, which, according to the suit, was “taking a toll on his stomach much more than usual.”
“Instead of going to the bathroom 3-4 times in the morning prior to arriving at work, his restroom breaks had increased to 5-7 times,” the lawsuit states.
At both supervisors’ urging, LaBarbera didn’t claim medical hardship as the reason for his requests, stating he didn’t want to alienate them, but in April 2025, he finally put in for a hardship transfer, which was ultimately denied, he alleged.
An EEO investigator gave him the “find a hidden garbage can” advice during that process.
Later, he was offered a transfer to Manhattan − an unrealistic solution because he’d have to commute by train and ferry to get to the job, the lawsuit alleges.
He was finally offered a spot on Staten Island in August, the lawsuit alleges, “only after (LaBarbera) had spent more than one year seeking an effective accommodation, submitting medical documentation, communicating with EDI and HR, remaining out of work or on unpaid leave, facing threatened termination, and being required to resubmit a reasonable accommodation request after his earlier request and appeal had been denied.”
He ended up not taking the post, “because the offer did not cure the harm already caused,” the lawsuit states.
The city DOT did not immediately return a request for comment, and the city’s Law Department declined comment Tuesday. Attempts to reach Ferraro and Schiavo were unsuccessful Tuesday.