FREDERIC DESNARD, who worked as a manager at a Parisian perfumery until 2015, sued his former employer because his job was so boring that it made him depressed and forced him to quit. He recently won the trial and a US$45,000 compensation.

Desnard made international news headlines in 2016 for suing French perfumery Interparfum for US$400,000 for making him work a boring job that at one point made him suffer an epileptic fit and left him feeling depressed.

He also claimed that the company signed him off work for several months, and later used his prolonged absence as an excuse to fire him in 2014. Earlier this month, after four years of litigation, the 48-year-old Desnard won his case and a compensation of US$45,000.

The Paris Court of Appeal ruled that Desnard suffered from “boreout,” which is technically the opposite of burnout, where an employee is overworked. The court said that boreout was indeed a form of moral harassment.

His lawyer claimed that the complete lack of stimulation at work had left the man feeling “destroyed” and “ashamed,” even triggering an epileptic fit when he was driving.

“I went into depression,” Desnard told AFP in 2016. “I was ashamed to be paid to do nothing. The worse part of it was denying this suffering.”

Desnard said that he was asked to do nothing but menial tasks over the course of four years, an experience he described as “a descent into hell.”

These tasks allegedly involved setting up the CEO’s new tablet and letting a plumber into his boss’ home.

(SD-Agencies)

as he had originally requested, instead opting for little over 10 percent of that as compensation.

What was originally considered a joke among law experts has now become the first such verdict of its kind in France, and will likely be cited as a precedent in future cases. Suing employers for lack of work or boredom may actually become a thing in the near future…