Ain’t nothing like it used to be,” wailed the rock band Steppenwolf a few decades ago, and that observation applies as well to the definition of “substantial limitation” under the ADA. In a case of first impression, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit held that the “substantial limitation” on a major
ADA Graveyard Shift Accommodation Issue Not Yet Dead
Posted on
Posted in ADA
A correctional officer whose doctor restricted her from working the graveyard shift (6 p.m. to 6 a.m.) may pursue her ADA failure to accommodate and constructive discharge claims, according to a federal court in New Mexico. Maes v. City of Espanola (D.N.M. January 13, 2014).
Plaintiff’s doctor wrote that plaintiff’s working the graveyard shift “caused…
Manual or Automatic? Transmission Type Matters for Leg Amputee in ADA Essential Function Dispute
Posted on
Posted in ADA
The plaintiff drove an excavator, which had an automatic transmission. The plaintiff moved the excavator from one jobsite to another by hauling it on a trailer behind a semi-truck, which had a manual transmission. While other employees sometimes hauled the excavator, the plaintiff moved it about 70% of the time. Due to a motorcycle accident,…
Employer Must Ensure its Doctor’s Medical Opinion is “Thorough and/or Reasonable”
Posted on
Posted in ADA
An employer’s losing a summary judgment motion in an employment case is one thing; for a plaintiff to win summary judgment is quite another. Such was the case in Lafata v. Dearborn Heights School District No. 7 (E.D. MI December 11, 2013), where a court rejected an employer’s defense that it “had a right to…
Posts of Future Openings Haunt Hospital in EEOC ADA Suit
Posted on
Posted in ADA
The EEOC has sued a hospital that granted an employee two months of medical leave and extended it for an additional four months, but denied her further medical leave and terminated her because her continued absence would cause it an undue hardship. EEOC v. Children’s Hospital and Research Center, Case No.”CV 13-5715 (N.D. CA.…
45 Minute “Dressing Down” Does Not Support ADA Constructive Discharge Claim
Posted on
Posted in ADA
An employee who claimed her supervisor “dressed [her] down” for 45 minutes, telling her during the tirade that she was unqualified for her job “because bipolar people are deficient, flighty, dishonest and untrustworthy,” cannot establish her constructive discharge claim, according to the Eleventh Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals. Menzie v. Ann Taylor Retail…
ADA Failure to Accommodate Claim Proceeds Despite Plaintiff’s Failure to Follow Employer’s Request Procedures
By Jackson Lewis P.C. on
Posted in ADA
A plaintiff’s failure to accommodate claim under the ADA may proceed even though the plaintiff did not follow the employer’s accommodation request procedures, according to a Virginia federal district court. Martin v. Yokohama Tire Corporation (W.D.Va. November 12, 2013).
The plaintiff, a diabetic, alleged that his requests for time off for doctors’ appointments and when…
Maximum Leave Policy Upheld; ADA Claim Rejected
Posted on
Posted in ADA
A former employee’s ADA claim that he was terminated unlawfully pursuant to a “Maximum Medical Leave of Absence Termination Policy” –an “inflexible blanket policy,” he called it –-was rejected because he was unable to return to his job at the end of his leave, did not request a transfer to a job he could perform,…
Schedule Flexibility and Lighter Workload for Indefinite Period Not a Reasonable Accommodation…Even if Kidney Stones Are a Disability
Posted on
Posted in ADA
Even if kidney stones were a disability under the ADA, an employer did not violate the ADA by not providing the plaintiff’s requested accommodations of “flexibility in her schedule” and a reduced work load for an indefinite period of time, according to a federal district court in Utah. Whitmeyer v. R & O Construction, Inc.…
Court Rejects Claim that Regular Attendance is Essential Function: Lessons for Employers
Posted on
Posted in ADA
A federal district court in Indiana has rejected an employer’s argument that attendance is an essential function, citing two reasons for denying summary judgment: that the job description “is silent as to whether attendance is an essential function” and that the company has 22 “formal” leave of absence plans. EEOC v. AT&T Corp. (D. IN.…