By John Doran The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently held that an employer may use after-acquired evidence to demonstrate that an employee is not qualified and therefore is not entitled to ADA protection. Anthony v. TRAX International Corporation, No. 18-15662 (9th Cir. April 17, 2020). In reaching this holding, the Court flatly rejected the EEOC’s […]
Category: ADA
Work-Related Stress Not a Disability
By Joseph Hunt It is a common scenario: An employee claims a particular supervisor causes too much stress, exacerbating a medical condition, and the employee requests reassignment as an accommodation. Must the employee be reassigned as a reasonable accommodation under the ADA? “Not so fast,” says the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. In Woolf v. […]
Employee’s Preference to Work from Home Is Not Enough
By Joe Hunt Courts are becoming more receptive to the idea of working from home as a reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”). A few principles remain static, however, as reflected by the Eight Circuit decision affirming summary judgment for the employer in Brunckhorst v. City of Oak Park Heights, No. 17-3238 […]
EEOC Commissioner Charge Trickery Called Out
By John Alan Doran Back in 2012, the EEOC issued BNSF a “Commissioner’s Charge,” saying it would investigate purported ADA violations by the railroad. For several years, BNSF cooperated with the EEOC’s numerous information requests. During the investigation, BNSF provided the EEOC with the names of 54 BNSF employees, but only after receiving written assurances […]
ADA Failure to Accommodate Claim Requires Adverse Action
By Bill Wright The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals has faced one of the least litigated issues under the ADA. Is a failure to accommodate the restrictions of a disabled employee, itself, an adverse employment action? Answer: no. Almost all ADA failure to accommodate cases arise when the employee is let go because he or […]
Takin’ Care of Business (on Half Time Schedule)
By: Joe Hunt An employee was unable to return to work full time because she was experiencing postpartum depression. She worked half time instead and, according to the employee, she was still able to do everything that was required of her position as a Human Resources Generalist. When the employee requested to extend her half […]
Between a Rock and a Hard Place – Off Duty Conduct Statutes
By: Beth Ann Lennon The Ninth Circuit recently reminded employers to keep state statutes regarding lawful off duty work in mind. R.C. Willey had a policy prohibiting employees from arriving at work with a blood alcohol level above .04%. When an employee came to work with a higher BAL, the employer discharged him. The policy […]
UPS Delivers Cautionary Tale
By John Doran Maximum leave policies are ubiquitous. These policies typically state that an employee who does not/cannot return from leave within a specified period (e.g. 12 months) will be discharged. Last year the EEOC issued “guidance” reminding employers that it views maximum leave policies as a violation of the ADA. Last week the EEOC […]
AZ ADA Trolls Benchslapped
By John Alan Doran An Arizona trial court today put a stop to one of the more egregious abuses of civil rights laws, dismissing well over 1,000 lawsuits filed by ADA trolls against Arizona property owners and lessees. The explosion of ADA lawsuits in Arizona has been well documented by the media. But most of […]
Site-Specific Disability?
By Bill Wright Does the ADAAA allow an employee to claim that she is disabled-in-a-particular-place or with-a-particular-supervisor, and otherwise not disabled? A California federal court judge opened the door to such claims by denying summary judgment on the issue of the plaintiff’s disability. In Lozano v. County of Santa Clara, No. 5:14-cv-02992-EJD (N.D. Cal. Jan. 13, […]