Adams v. Ardcor Division of American Roll Tooling, Inc.

**What Happened** Adams sued his former employer, Ardcor Division of American Roll Tooling, Inc., for employment-related claims that involved emotional distress. During the legal process, Adams claimed he suffered psychological harm and planned to have his therapist testify on his behalf at trial. However, when the employer's lawyers wanted to see Adams' therapy records and ask him detailed questions about his mental health treatment, Adams refused, saying those records were private and protected. **What the Court Decided** The court ruled against Adams and ordered him to release his psychological records and answer questions about his therapy. The judge determined that by claiming emotional distress as part of his lawsuit and planning to use his therapist as a witness, Adams had given up his right to keep those therapy records confidential. **Why This Matters for Workers** This case shows that if you sue your employer for emotional distress or psychological harm, you may have to give up the privacy of your therapy records. Once you make your mental health a central part of your case, courts will likely allow the employer to examine those records and question you about your treatment. Workers should discuss this trade-off with their attorneys before filing such claims.