News & Analysis as of

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Summary Judgment Employment Litigation

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,...

Employer’s ‘Take It or Leave It’ Offer of Remote Work as Reasonable Accommodation Is a Jury Question, D.C. Circuit Rules

On August 9, 2024, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit reversed the district court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on an employee’s...more

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,...

Eleventh Circuit Upholds Ruling for Employer on ADA Claims Where Employee Submitted Noncompliant Return-to-Work Letter

On February 7, 2024, in Jones v. Georgia Ports Authority, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit affirmed a district court’s grant of summary judgment for an employer where a former employee who requested an...more

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP

Admission That Business Unit Was Closed Due to Employee's Disability Precludes Dismissal of ADA Claim

When advising employers about the legal risks associated with a business reorganization, we generally advise that discrimination claims are less likely when a company closes an entire facility or department as compared to...more

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,...

Fifth Circuit Weighs in for the First Time Since COVID-19 as to When Remote Work Can Be Reasonable Accommodation

Fifth Circuit precedent recognizes the “general consensus among courts” that regular, in-person work is an essential function of most jobs. Yet the continued viability of this premise has been in question, given the ability...more

Butler Snow LLP

6th Circuit Reinstates Failure-to-Accommodate Claim Against Employer That Terminated Employee With Outstanding Leave Request

Butler Snow LLP on

Once an employee requests an accommodation, the employer has a duty to engage in an “interactive process” to try to determine whether the employer can accommodate the employee’s disability...more

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP

Don’t Fire Me! I’m Drug Free! It Was CBD! Indiana Court Examines Termination for Use of Hemp Oil

In our modern world of a booming CBD industry and an increasing number of states that have legalized marijuana, can you terminate an employee for a positive drug test for marijuana? What if the test shows marijuana...more

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,...

Consistently Inconsistent: An Example of Shifting Reasons for Employment Termination Precluding Summary Judgment

The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas recently denied an employer’s motion for summary judgment when its alleged shifting reasons for terminating the plaintiff’s employment contract raised genuine issues...more

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,...

Alabama Worker’s ADA Suit Runs Out of Air: Federal Court Dismisses Failure to Accommodate and Retaliation Claims

The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama recently granted summary judgment to United States Steel Corporation, finding that the company did not deny Raymond Carr III, a former employee with chronic...more

Laner Muchin, Ltd.

Seventh Circuit Affirms that Multi-Month Leave of Absence Is Not Reasonable Accommodation Under ADA

Laner Muchin, Ltd. on

In a recent opinion, the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit affirmed that a multi-month leave of absence is not a reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)....more

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP

A New Road Map for Disciplining Employees for Reasons Unrelated to Their Disability

Some of the most frequent questions we receive from employers involve managing the performance of employees with medical issues. While employers understand their nondiscrimination obligations under the Americans with...more

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission...

M&T Bank Will Pay $100,000 to Settle EEOC Disability Discrimination Lawsuit

Bank Failed to Accommodate Manager With Pregnancy-Related Disability, Federal Agency Charged - BALTIMORE - Manufacturers and Traders Trust Company, doing business as M&T Bank, will pay $100,000 and provide significant...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Nuclear Power Company Avoids ADA Discrimination Claim Meltdown

Seyfarth Shaw LLP on

Seyfarth Synopsis: In Flaherty v. Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc., ___ F.3d ___, No. 18-1759, 2019 WL 7046367, at *1 (1st Cir. Dec. 23, 2019), the First Circuit struck a terminated nuclear plant security officer’s...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Sixth Circuit “Regarded As” ADA case — When Reality and Perception Collide

Seyfarth Shaw LLP on

Seyfarth Synopsis: The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) not only provides protection to individuals who have physical or mental impairments, but to individuals an employer may perceive to have such impairments. These...more

Cozen O'Connor

HR Investigations Pay Dividends: A Healthier Workplace and Protection in Court

Cozen O'Connor on

Many HR professionals spend a significant amount of time investigating employee complaints and, depending on the outcome of these investigations, implementing corrective measures to halt and prevent bad behavior in the...more

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP

Speculating About Employee's Medical Condition May Lead to ADA Claim

The Americans with Disabilities Act not only protects persons with actual medical conditions but also those regarded by their employer as disabled, even if they are not. A new decision from the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals...more

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP

Employers Can Modify or Revoke ADA Accommodations if Underlying Job Duties Change

In his classic 1998 business book “Who Moved my Cheese?,” Spencer Johnson discussed the need for businesses and employees to focus on the need to adapt to changes in their industries. In our practice, we frequently see claims...more

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP

Absent Health Impairment, Obesity Is Not an ADA Disability

The ADA Amendments Act of 2008 substantially expanded the definition of protected disabled persons under federal anti-discrimination laws. In most circumstances, employers do not spend much time arguing that the plaintiff is...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Following Supervisor’s “Not Working Out” Comment, EEOC Defeats Employer’s Motion For Summary Judgment In ADA Lawsuit

Seyfarth Shaw LLP on

Seyfarth Synopsis: A federal district court in Arkansas recently denied an employer’s motion for summary judgment on two EEOC-initiated ADA claims – in EEOC v. Crain Automotive Holdings LLC, No. 4:17-CV-627, 2019 U.S. Dist....more

Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete, LLP

"Fat Shaming" Costs Employer Big Bucks

Buff employers, beware! A jury recently awarded $500 grand to a restaurant server in Las Vegas for intentional infliction of emotional distress. The server claimed that a sign calling him "Fat Andy" was posted at his wait...more

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,...

The Americans with Disabilities Act Prohibits Hostile Work Environments, Second Circuit Rules

On March 6, 2019, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit decided Fox v. Costco Wholesale Corporation, eliminating any uncertainty concerning whether an employee can assert a hostile work environment claim under the...more

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP

Doctor, Doctor: Fourth Circuit Allows Case to Proceed on Employee Medical Exam

When can you send an employee for a medical exam? In EEOC v. McLeod Health, Inc., the Fourth Circuit recently provided some guidance and allowed a plaintiff’s claim for an illegal medical exam to proceed to the jury despite...more

Polsinelli

Four Circuits Agree: Regular and Reliable Attendance is an Essential Job Function

Polsinelli on

Recently, the United States Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals reaffirmed that regular and reliable attendance is an essential function of most jobs under the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”). Lipp v. Cargill Meat...more

Littler

Sixth Circuit Rejects Argument that Full-Time Job Requires Full-Time Hours in ADA Failure to Accommodate Case

Littler on

Holding that full-time presence at the workplace is not always an essential job function, on July 17, 2018, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit reversed summary judgment in favor of the employer in an Americans...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

First Circuit Decision Underlines the Importance of Law Over Sympathetic Facts in Disability Discrimination Cases

Seyfarth Shaw LLP on

Seyfarth Synopsis: Plaintiffs in disability discrimination cases often have sympathetic facts on their side. A recent decision out of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, however, highlighted that courts...more

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,...

If You Snooze, You (May) Lose Under the FMLA and ADA, Says the Seventh Circuit

In the recent case of Guzman v. Brown County, No. 16-3599 (March 7, 2018), the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a district court’s grant of summary judgment to an employer on claims brought under the Family and...more

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