United Airlines to Pay over $1 Million To Settle EEOC Disability Lawsuit
In a case that garnered nationwide attention, air transportation giant United Airlines Inc. has agreed to pay more than $1 million and implement changes to settle a federal disability lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).
The EEOC's lawsuit charged that United's competitive transfer policy violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The law requires an employer to provide reasonable accommodation to an employee or job applicant with a disability, unless doing so would impose an undue hardship for the employer. By requiring workers with disabilities to compete for vacant positions for which they were qualified and which they needed in order to continue working, the company's practice frequently prevented employees with disabilities from continuing employment with United, the EEOC said.
Recent Case Illustrates How Types of Associational Discrimination Claims Can Play Out in Litigation
The National Law Review
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) protects applicants and employees from discrimination based on their relationship or association with an individual who has a disabling condition. Generally speaking, there are three types of associational discrimination claims:
Expense discrimination: Employer fears that association with disabled person will be costly to the employer.
Disability by association: A relationship with a disabled person means employee may also be disabled.
Distraction: A relationship with a disabled person will prevent the employee from completing job responsibilities.
A recent case from the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals illustrates how these claims can play out in litigation. In Williams v. Union Underwear Company, Inc., the plaintiff alleged that his employer discharged him in violation of the ADA because it feared that his wife’s disability would be too costly for the company. The plaintiff’s “evidence” consisted of nothing more than one instance where he expressed a need for medical insurance in relation to his wife’s impairment. The employer asserted that the plaintiff was terminated for poor performance. The Sixth Circuit ultimately held that this “evidence” was insufficient to support the plaintiff’s associational discrimination claim.
Why is this case important? It underscores how easy it is for a plaintiff to drag an employer into drawn out litigation. Where an employer has knowledge of a potential associational claim, it needs to be extra vigilant in documenting its legitimate, non-discriminatory business reason for the adverse employment action at issue.
Failure to engage in interactive process immaterial; psychologist with memory loss not qualified
CCH Netnews
Although troubled by a health center's failure to meaningfully engage in the interactive process with its chief psychologist - who suffered from short-term memory deficiencies - prior to terminating him, the Seventh Circuit nonetheless affirmed the grant of summary judgment against his disability discrimination claim because he failed to point to any evidence that would allow a trier of fact to determine he was a qualified individual under the ADA. While the court "did not mean to suggest that concern for patient safety or fear of malpractice liability relieves" an employer of the obligation to seriously engage in the interactive process, it found it "entirely proper for an employer assessing the reasonableness of a proposed accommodation to consider the sensitive nature of the employee's position and the potential safety and liability risks involved." (Stern v St. Anthony's Health Center, 7thCir, June 4, 2015, Tinder, J.)
Colorado Supreme Court Confirms Employers May Fire Employees for Medical Marijuana Use
The National Law Review
On June 15, 2015, the Colorado Supreme Court affirmed an appeals court decision ruling that employers can lawfully fire employees for use of medical marijuana.
Appellate Win for School That Barred Service Dog
Courthouse News Service
An elementary school that refused to let a student with cerebral palsy bring her service dog, Wonder, defeated the family's claims in the Sixth Circuit.
So a Woman and a Kangaroo Walk into A Bar
JD Supra
On this blog we’ve explored the laws related to service animals and how the ADA’s regulations extend their use far past traditional notions of “seeing eye dogs.” In Wisconsin (admit it, you assumed this blog post was going to have an Aussie connection), a woman is treading new territory by seeking legal recognition to use a kangaroo as a therapy animal. The woman, Diana Moyer, owns several kangaroos and also has a doctor’s note stating that one of the kangaroos—Jimmy—is a therapy animal to assist her in dealing with cancer treatment and depression.