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ADA: Reasonable Accommodations Have Limits

Robert C. Lockwood
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The ADA only requires reasonable accommodations, not the accommodation of an employee’s choosing.

A recent decision from the Northern District of Alabama reinforces that the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) does not guarantee disabled employees an accommodation of their choosing.  Instead, accommodations offered by an employer only need to be “reasonable.” See Maddox v. ALDOT, No. 2:15-cv-00312-MHH, 2018 WL 3241212 (N.D. Ala. Jul. 3, 2018).

In Maddox, the employee suffered from allergies to dust and asphalt, and also worked for the Alabama Department of Transportation (“ALDOT”).  ALDOT provided numerous accommodations to Ms. Maddox.  ALDOT allowed her to leave work anytime asphalt fumes affected her breathing.  It provided an air purifier and replaced the air ventilation system in Ms. Maddox’s building.  ALDOT even relocated an asphalt lab to the rear of the building in which Ms. Maddox worked.  ALDOT also offered to transfer Ms. Maddox to a different office in Shelby County, but Ms. Maddox declined and requested a transfer to ALDOT’s main office in Montgomery.  However, the main office was undergoing mold remediation and ALDOT would only permit the transfer if her doctor stated that the main office would be a safe environment.  When Ms. Maddox’s doctor declined to issue such an opinion, she argued that ALDOT should allow her to take sick leave until a clean-air environment could be created.  ALDOT declined to provide such leave.

Ms. Maddox sued under the ADA claiming that ALDOT failed to provide a reasonable accommodation for her alleged disability.  For purposes of deciding the case, United States District Court Judge Madeline Hughes Haikala assumed that the allergies amounted to a “disability” under the ADA.  Nevertheless, Judge Haikala focused upon the fact that the ADA only requires “reasonable accommodations.”  Indeed, it is well-established that a qualified individual with a disability is “not entitled to the accommodation of her choice, but only a reasonable accommodation.”  Stewart v. Happy Herman’s Chesire Bridge, Inc., 117 F.3d 1278, 1286 (11th Cir. 1997).

Judge Haikala noted her sympathy with Ms. Maddox’s frustration, but held that the ADA “does not require an employee to create an environment completely free of fumes, dust, mold or other allergens to accommodate an employee’s health condition.”  Judge Haikala found that ALDOT’s proffered accommodations were reasonable; therefore, she dismissed Ms. Maddox’s case.

Maddox provides excellent guidance for employers struggling to accommodate employees’ health conditions.  In most cases, employers should follow ALDOT’s lead and attempt to find some solution/accommodation for the employees’ health issues.  But, at some point, requested accommodations cross the line from “reasonable” to unreasonable.  In those cases, the employer’s other efforts to provide reasonable accommodations can help prove that the employee’s requested accommodation is not reasonable.

****For lawyers/lovers of the law****  Maddox was decided under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.  In employment cases, the standards of the Rehabilitation Act are the same as the standards applied under Title I of the ADA.

 

ADA: Disabled Employees Must Meet Productivity Standards

Robert C. Lockwood
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Disabled employees must meet the same productivity standards as other employees.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) is intended to ensure that individuals with disabilities do not suffer discrimination in the workplace.  Even so, the ADA does not grant special status to individuals with disabilities, so that they are treated more favorably than other employees.  One of the key requirements of any workplace is productivity.  Disabled employees must meet the same productivity standards as other employees.

This concept is acknowledged even by the EEOC:  “An employee with a disability must meet the same production standards, whether quantitative or qualitative, as a non-disabled employee in the same job.”  The EEOC’s entire discussion of performance standards can be found here:  Applying Performance And Conduct Standards To Employees With Disabilities.  As you probably know, the ADA requires that “reasonable accommodations” must be made for disabled employees.  But, the EEOC also acknowledges that an employer is not required to decrease productivity standards as an “accommodation”:  “Lowering or changing a production standard because an employee cannot meet it due to a disability is not considered a reasonable accommodation.”

The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals recently upheld productivity requirements in Singleton v. The Public Health Trust of Miami-Dade County, No. 17-12282, 2018 WL 679389 (11th Cir. Feb. 2, 2018).  In Singleton, a physician was required to treat a minimum number of patients each day.  Yet, it was undisputed that he was unable to meet those productivity requirements.  As a result, even though the physician may have been “disabled,” he was not a “qualified” individual with a disability.  A “qualified” individual must be able to perform the essential functions of the job.  Because productivity was an essential function, and the physician could not perform that function, he could be terminated without violating the ADA.

Employers should always proceed cautiously when contemplating the termination of a disabled employee.  In fact, the EEOC suggests that an employer might have a duty to eliminate “marginal” functions of a job in order to assist an employee in meeting productivity requirements.  Therefore, I strongly encourage Alabama employers to conduct a thorough analysis  before terminating a disabled employee.

ADA: Comprehensive Job Descriptions Are Vital

Robert C. Lockwood
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Job descriptions are an important piece of evidence in defending ADA claims.

Do you have job descriptions for your employees?  Do your job descriptions list the “essential functions” for each job?  If not, your chances of violating the Americans With Disabilities Act (“ADA”) are greater than they need to be.

To prevail on a claim of disability discrimination, an employee must prove that they were “disabled” and that they were a “qualified” individual with a disability.  A “qualified” individual can perform the essential functions of their job, with or without reasonable accommodation.   Job descriptions are vital because they help a court to determine the essential functions of a job.

Whether a job function is “essential” is determined on a case-by-case basis.  Even so, one of the factors that a court considers is the employer’s judgment of whether a particular function is essential.  And, a comprehensive job description will tell a judge exactly which functions the employer considers to be essential.

But, a job description can be a double-edged sword.  If your job description fails to list a function as “essential,” it will be difficult to convince a court otherwise.  One employer learned that lesson in Lewis v. City of Union City, 877 F.3d 1000 (11th Cir. 2017).  In Lewis, a police department claimed that officer must be trained on, and suffer a shock from, taser guns.  Lewis refused because of a heart condition, and the department terminated her employment.  The department then tried to argue that taking a shock from a taser was an “essential function” of the job, but the job description for police officer made no reference to the taser shock.  The Eleventh Circuit then found that there were genuine issues on whether the taser shock was an essential function of the job.

The lack of reference to taser shock in the job description also defeated the department’s “direct threat” defense.  The department argued that the officer was a direct threat to herself, because her presence near tasers in the workplace posed a significant risk of harm to her health.  The Eleventh Circuit rejected that argument, however, because a “direct threat” can only be determined by examining “essential functions.”  And, again, the taser shock was missing from the “essential functions.”

In short, job descriptions are vital part of any defense to an ADA claim.  As always, proceed carefully if you are going to take any action based upon the health of any employee.