New England Biz Law Update
The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has revived a former employee’s failure-to-accommodate claim, finding that a jury could conclude that the employer should have considered reassigning him to a vacant position rather than keeping him on indefinite unpaid leave.
The decision addresses an important issue for employers managing disability accommodations: when an employee can no longer perform the essential functions of the current job, the accommodation process may need to turn to available positions the employee is qualified to perform.
The case involved a pest control technician who injured his knee on the job. His doctor determined that he could not perform the physical duties of his position but could handle less physically demanding work.
The employee requested a light-duty position, but according to the record, he received no meaningful follow-up and remained on unpaid leave for 16 months before resigning.
A federal district court granted summary judgment to the employer on his disability discrimination and failure-to-accommodate claims, reasoning in part that no accommodation would allow him to perform the essential functions of his original position.
The 4th Circuit affirmed dismissal of the discrimination claim but reversed on the failure-to-accommodate claim. The appeals court found that the lower court failed to separately consider whether the employee could perform the essential functions of other vacant positions.
Reassignment may need to be considered
The employee identified customer service and sales positions that he said he could perform within his medical restrictions. The record included evidence supporting his ability to perform at least one of those roles.
The court also found evidence from which a jury could conclude that the employer failed to engage in a good-faith interactive process after the employee repeatedly sought reassignment.
Reassignment is generally considered an accommodation of last resort under the ADA, but the ruling illustrates why employers should not end the accommodation analysis simply because an employee can no longer perform his or her existing job.
When other effective accommodations are unavailable, employers may need to determine whether suitable vacant positions exist before relying on extended or indefinite leave.
