By Jim Cline
As part of our continued effort provide the best possible information to our clients and Premium Website subscribers we have vastly expanded our “Reasonable Accommodation” case table. The case table shows what types of accommodations have been found reasonable and not reasonable for a wide range of medical conditions.
The table is broken out by different types of medical limitations and describes for each case what the circumstances were that led a court to rule that a proposed accommodation was reasonable. Since the reasonableness of accommodations might be impacted by the demands of a particular accommodation, we identify the occupation at issue in each case.
Here are some samples of case entries:
Disability: Hand Disability: Hand tremors
Accommodation Requested: Reinstatement
Accommodation Required: Yes
Accommodation Adequate: Yes
Citation: Fussell v. Georgia Ports Auth., 906 F. Supp. 1561 (S.D. Ga. 1995)
Statute: ADA
Explanation: The employer was not required to permit a Police Officer to stay employed in that position when he continually failed a firearm qualification test.” He presented too great of a danger to others because it was not clear that he could shoot straight. The employer was also not required to stay in contact with the employee and inform him when other positions opened up. It is the employee’s responsibility to stay in touch and if he cannot be bothered to do so the employer does not need to continually seek the employee out after termination.
Disability: Shoulder Disability
Accommodation Requested: Reinstatement, consideration for promotion
Accommodation Required: Yes
Accommodation Adequate: Yes
Citation: Kincaid v. City of Omaha, 378 F.3d 799 (8th Cir. 2004)
Statute: ADA
Explanation: An employer required a Correctional Officer to provide medical release from their doctor before accommodating the employee. The court held this was reasonable.
Disability: Spinal Disability: Degenerative Disk Disease
Accommodation Requested: Reassignment to dispatcher position or other alternative
Accommodation Required: Yes
Accommodation Adequate: Yes
Citation: Seth v. City of Seattle, 1999 U.S. App. LEXIS 28046 (9th Cir. 1999)
Statute: ADA
Explanation: A Police Officer was forced to retire due to his back problem. He requested accommodations but failed the dispatcher exam. The department sent him letters informing him of available positions, but he was not qualified for other positions. The court held this was adequate accommodation.
Disability: Back Disability
Accommodation Requested: Light-duty assignment, transfer
Accommodation Required: Maybe
Accommodation Adequate: No
Citation: Burch v. City of Nacogdoches, 174 F.3d 615 (5th Cir. 1999)
Statute: ADA
Explanation: A Firefighter’s severe back injury disqualified him from continuing work. The court found that, because his injury precluded him from completing even light-duty assignments as a firefighter, and no alternative vacancies were available in the city, his termination for injury was appropriate.
The table contains entries for about 200 of such cases. The information on the table can provide you a good sense of what types of accommodations might be considered reasonable in different circumstances.
Our premium website also contains case tables on a wide range of other topics. Tables summarize cases involving:
- Contract Interpretation by Arbitrators
- Discipline Decisions by Arbitrators
- Reasonable Accommodation of Disabilities
- FLSA
- PERC Scope of bargaining rulings
- PERC case tables on unlawful Discrimination and Interference
The premium website is available for all retainer clients or by subscription for other unions.
