One of my more popular blog entries is the blog entry that discusses suing a state court system for disability discrimination . Here is another case along those lines. In Phillips v. New Hampshire Circuit Court, Eighth Circuit, District Division, 2014 WL 495656 (D. N.H. February 5, 2014) (unpublished decision), the plaintiff had a
Title I
DOJ brings the hammer down on the State of Lousiana’s bar licensing authority
By William Goren on
I’m going to be off next week, and so I thought I would blog on this one since it is something I have talked about before.
Previously, I blogged on a South Dakota Supreme Court case and talked about the difficulty a person with MH has in passing the character and fitness gauntlet. I also…
Temporary disabilities and the ADA
By William Goren on
Posted in ADA, Final Federal Regulations, Proposed Federal Regulations, Title I, Title II, Title III
In the first and second editions of my book, understanding the ADA, I cited to the case of Burch v. Coca-Cola Company, 119 F.3d 305 (5th Cir. 1997), for the proposition that temporary disabilities are not protected by the ADA. However, I did say as a preventive manner, it made sense to treat temporary…
ADA and Mediation/Arbitration: Things to Think About
By William Goren on
The ADA and alternative dispute resolution are two concepts that mesh very well together. The ADA itself has language in it encouraging dispute resolution. In fact, both the EEOC and the Department of Justice have mediation programs dealing with ADA lawsuits. Also, with the courts having a very favorable view towards arbitrating claims, arbitration has…
The perils of relying on a physical exam subsequent to a conditional job offer
By William Goren on
The ADA allows a physical exam to be made after a conditional job offer. That is, it is perfectly permissible under the ADA to offer a person a job conditionally subsequent to taking a physical. If the employer denies employment after the physical exam (i.e. takes back the conditional job offer), the employer must do…
Undue Hardship in the Financial Sense: A Viable Defense?
By William Goren on
Posted in Federal Cases, Title I
This blog entry can be divided neatly into two parts. In the first part, I play a game of true false based upon the issues that arose in the recent case of Attiiogbe-Tay v. Southeast Rolling Hills LLC, which recently came down from the United States District Court of Minnesota. The second part explores…
Is Alcoholism a Disability: Revisiting Miners v. Cargill Communications and the importance of pleadings
By William Goren on
Ever since the first edition of my book in 2000 and in every edition since, I have discussed the case of Miners v. Cargill Communications, Inc., 113 F.3d 820 (8th Cir. 1997). That case illustrates the perils of what can happen when an employer perceives someone as being an alcoholic. In that case, the…
Access Now v. Southwest Airlines overruled by regulation? Department of Transportation, Internet accessibility, kiosk accessibility and the Air Carrier Access Act
By William Goren on
The issue of whether the Internet has to be accessible to a person with a disability is an issue that we have discussed before. One of the cases out there is the case of Access Now v. Southwest Airlines, 227 F. Supp. 2d 1312 (S.D. Fla. 2002), where the Southern District of Florida…
Is indefinite medical leave a reasonable accommodation under the ADA? ? State Law? Local municipal law?
By William Goren on
Posted in State Cases, Title I
In a prior blog entry, we discussed whether indefinite medical leave was a reasonable accommodation under the ADA. In that blog entry, we discussed a case from the 10th circuit, where they held that indefinite leave was not a reasonable accommodation under the ADA. But that isn’t the end of the matter. What about…
Mixed motive and title I redux
By William Goren on
One of my more popular blog entries is the blog entry discussing University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center v. Nassar. In that blog entry, I talked about how that decision necessarily means that mixed motive jury instructions are available with respect to ADA title I (non-retaliation) claims. We now have a case, Siring…