By Kate Acheson
As a case of first impression, a Washington State District Court recently found, in Hansen v. Boeing Co., that an employee is protected against retaliation for requesting or utilizing reasonable accommodation for a disability under the Washington State Law Against Discrimination (WSLAD).
Ms. Hansen, a longtime Boeing employee, requested a six-month leave of absence in 2008 to accommodate her back surgery and recovery. Boeing granted the leave. While Ms. Hansen was on leave, Boeing downgraded her employee evaluation. Ms. Hansen returned from leave in March 2009 and was laid off fewer than eight weeks later. After her termination, Ms. Hansen filed suit claiming Boeing discriminated and retaliated against her on the basis of her disability.
Boeing did not dispute that Ms. Hansen’s back condition was a disability within the meaning of the WSLAD, or that her request for leave was a request for a reasonable accommodation. Boeing claimed that Ms. Hansen failed to state a retaliation claim because she could not show she “opposed any practices.” Under the WSLAD, it is “an unfair practice for any employer… to discharge, expel, or otherwise discriminate against any person because he or she has opposed any [WSLAD-disallowed] practices.”
The Court rejected Boeing’s interpretation of the WSLAD, finding the intent of the statute, which is to be broadly interpreted, to include requesting or utilizing reasonable disability accommodations. As the court put it:
Taking an adverse action against a disabled employee because she requested or utilized a reasonable accommodation is a form of disability discrimination in violation of the WLAD’s anti-discrimination provision. The need for reasonable accommodation is part and parcel of a disability.
