Woman sues her employer for paying her to do nothing for 20 years

I can't seem to find much more detail on this particular story outside of the article, but it reminds me of that other lawsuit where a woman sued McDonald's because the coffee was "too hot". Of course everyone dogged on this person because "hurr hurr Karen of course coffee is hot", but it turned out the beverage was boiling and she actually suffered second and third degree burns. This context was left out of the initial reporting, and because of that she was harassed and mocked.

I suspect that this might be the same case here so I think I might reserve judgement before assuming she's lazy, or greedy / stupid for suing.

Also, I've been in a situation where I was alienated and constantly looking for work. It's not as fun as it sounds, and going through that experience for 20 years feels like a nightmare to me.

The woman's skin fused together, and her initial claim was only to cover medical expenses. MDs faafo in court and she was then awarded further damages. The PR blitz to paint her as unreasonable and "sue happy" was just vindictive in their part, and unfortunately effective.
- Not only did the coffee case a fused labia, MD had already been warned several times about their coffee being served too hot. This was a repeat offence, and the courts thew the book at them.
- For a second before my reading comprehension kicked in I thought the she you were referring to was the original 20 years underutilized lady not the coffee lady.

That would be a dream come true for me. Free time to pursue my own hobbies. I don't need to rely on some office full of cunts for external validation or socialization when I can find proper weirdos elsewhere.

I mean I would not trust such a job would last twenty years. I mean it would be great if I had a 20 year no work contract.
- Yeah, but I wouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth, either

she literally could have switched jobs at any time. why wait 20 to get all lawsuit-y? and thats ignoring the obvious, 'why didnt you go get another 'temp' job if youre so bored?

Boredom is a personal problem. The sum of all human knowledge and entertainment is in every pocket. If that fails, read or, god forbid, write.

Where does someone get one of these "paid for nothing, be invisible" jobs?

Much like any way to get ahead in capitalism: pure unadulterated luck.
- I had one of these jobs for about three months, they sound better than they really are. You spend 8 hours monitoring your company issued laptop for random messages from your boss. You can't do anything that takes you away from that device. After a while you run out of shows to stream and video games to play, or you become depressed and loose interest.
  I thought about joining an online D&D game but I would still get pulled into random teams meeting where in wouldn't say or do anything, so I couldn't commit to 4 hours uninterrupted.

Wild. Should've picked up a second job if it was so hard to bear a job that paid you but didn't give you work to do

Now the article does suggest she's not the most proactive of people. After the first 10 years of this she filed a complaint.

When that didn't go anywhere after another 10 years she sues them.

I'm probably one of the few commentors who has some direct experience with her situation (epilepsy and neurological condition). Not me personally but a family member.

On the one hand, I empathize because it is frustrating to feel useless and incapable. It's not just a work thing, that kind of condition makes every aspect of life difficult.

On the other, I have a hard time giving her 100% benefit of the doubt. In my experience, some people are not aware of their specific limitations, or don't respect them. This can lead to dangerous situations and other negative outcomes.

I can only assume French Labour laws and a degree of compassion is why they chose to keep her on payroll.

I don't consider her lucky. The people scoffing at her situation are representing themselves poorly.

In my experience, some people are not aware of their specific limitations, or don't respect them. This can lead to dangerous situations and other negative outcomes.
I mean she's an office worker, trained in human resources though pigeon-holed as a secretary. I don't understand what could possibly be dangerous for her?
- Epilepsy is inherently dangerous condition to have. If you have a seizure, and nobody is around, you could hit your head and die before anyone helps you. Or you could be injured by your environment or objects in your possession.
  Seizures also have what's called a postictal phase, which essentially lingering side effects that vary greatly from person to person.
  The danger that this individual bears some responsibility to mitigate manifests when there is gap between the knowledge/expectations of co-workers and the intentions of the individual. I would not be surprised if her determination to push her limits has resulted in medical incidents that could have been avoided.