Bullying and discrimination: Avellino City Council fined €70 to a disabled employee.

For years, she clocked in, seemingly without ever being able to do her job. Not by choice, but because no one would let her. The Court has now laid bare a story that reveals a silent and profound form of mobbing, ordering the Municipality of Avellino to pay €70 in compensation to one of its employees with disabilities.

The protagonist of the story is Paola De Angelis, hired by the municipal authority in 2011. Despite receiving a regular salary, the woman was never assigned any concrete tasks. She spent years in a state of total inactivity, isolated in a small room in the municipal offices, without duties, without a role, without prospects. A situation that, over time, transformed into a true denial of professional dignity.

After deciding to publicly report what was happening, De Angelis embarked on a lengthy legal process that has only now concluded, almost nine years later, with his case being upheld. The Court ruled that the employer's conduct had caused real and compensable damages, ordering the Municipality not only to pay compensation but also to cover legal costs.

The ruling was notified to Special Commissioner Giuliana Perrotta, who will have to resort to off-balance sheet debt to cover the compensation. The commissioner herself announced the initiation of an internal proceeding to assess any disciplinary liability and potential financial damages against the municipal officials involved.

Paola De Angelis is still employed by the Municipality of Avellino as an administrative officer in the social policies area, but is currently on sick leave. Her story, now recognized by a court ruling, brings the issue of work as a substantive and not merely a formal right back to the forefront of the debate, especially when it concerns people with disabilities and public administrations called upon to lead by example.