Job Description Mistakes You Don’t Want to Make
While motions for summary judgment are usually tricky to obtain in fact-laden employment cases alleging discrimination, failure to accommodate, and failure to engage in the interactive process, the Court of Appeal recently...more
On October 17, 2024, the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas entered summary judgment in favor of the Unified Government of Wyandotte County/Kansas City, Kansas, as representative of the Kansas City Board of Public...more
The Seventh Circuit’s recent decision – holding that an employee’s request for a second chance that allows them to change their behavior to meet employer expectations is not a “reasonable accommodation” under the ADA –...more
This month, the California Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court’s grant of summary adjudication to the employer in a disability discrimination case alleging violations of the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA). The...more
During the COVID-19 pandemic, we saw a number of federal court decisions involving disability discrimination claims from teachers who requested full-time remote work as an accommodation for compromised immune systems or other...more
The Supreme Court issued several momentous decisions last term that will have a lasting impact on employer practices. The Justices continued to shape the workplace law landscape by ruling on an array of issues involving...more
It is well settled that when requesting reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), employees are not required to use the words “ADA,” “reasonable accommodation,” “disability,” or any other...more
In a recent decision affirming summary judgment in favor of defendant Human Resources Agency of New Britain, Inc. (the “Agency”), the Connecticut Appellate Court (decision.pdf) provided employers with useful guidance about...more
On February 14, 2024, a judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Vermont dismissed a plaintiff’s Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) discrimination and failure-to-accommodate case, holding that his medical...more
SkyWest Airlines, Inc., was justified in discharging a deaf ramp agent because his inability to hear or effectively communicate posed a “direct threat” to the safety of himself and others, the U.S. District Court for the...more
The Supreme Court earlier this month declined to address who has standing to sue a business whose website violates the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). In Acheson Hotels, LLC v. Laufer, the justices unanimously remanded...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a summary judgment award on an employee’s failure-to-accommodate claim. The Court’s decision focused on the employer’s improperly narrow delineation of the...more
Although the Supreme Court already has heard a number of significant arguments, this term has not yet seen any major substantive opinions. This is not to say that there isn’t a lot going on at, or on the way to, the Court....more
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) issued its much anticipated ruling in Acheson Hotels, LLC v. Laufer vacating the matter as moot. Doing so, SCOTUS left private business owners grappling with the existing...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: SCOTUS’s refusal to clarify standing requirements for “tester” plaintiffs in ADA Title III lawsuits means it’s business as usual for the plaintiffs’ bar....more
After waiting nearly a year for a decision that would have provided businesses with some much-needed clarity (and hopefully some relief), the Supreme Court tossed from its docket a case involving a legal “tester” who “surfed...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: SCOTUS asked revealing questions in Wednesday's Acheson v. Laufer oral argument, but left attendees wondering whether the Court will provide much-needed guidance on the so-called “tester standing” issue...more
A high-level IT worker who claimed he was discriminated against because of his medical condition was not entitled to a jury trial or monetary damages for his retaliation claim under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)....more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, in Beasley v. O’Reilly Auto Parts, recently held that a claim for failure-to-accommodate under the Americans with Disability Act (ADA) must include an adverse employment...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: The Tenth Circuit further clarifies The Rehabilitation Act while making it even harder to get rid of failure to accommodate claims at the summary judgment stage; FEHA and ADA implications may follow....more
Overview - On 24 May 2023, in Beasley v. O’Reilly Auto Parts, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit created a split in the circuit courts by holding that an employee must establish the occurrence of an...more
Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), “[n]o covered entity shall discriminate against a qualified individual on the basis of disability in regard to job application procedures, the hiring, advancement, or discharge...more
Mental health issues in the workplace are at an all-time high. And with those issues come a slew of accommodation requests ranging from continued work from home to removal of stressful job duties to not appearing on camera...more
On May 24, 2023, the Eleventh Circuit ruled that a failure to accommodate claim under the American with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) is only actionable if the employee establishes that the failure to accommodate negatively...more
Donald Kinsella was an employee of defendant Baker Hughes Oilfield Operations LLC. In June 2013, he suffered a work-related injury resulting in his disability and receipt of disability benefits for three years. Baker Hughes’...more