This week’s blog entry considers the Society for Human Resource Management answer to the complaint of Fiona Torres in her case saying SHRM violated the ADA by not allowing her to have her service dog when it rescinded a conditional job offer. In the interest of full disclosure, many years ago I did speak to
Federal Cases
Eviction Notices Must be Accessible to Persons with Disabilities and other Stuff
By William Goren on
Congratulations to the Indiana Hoosiers on an undefeated season culminating in the national championship. Also, congratulations to the remaining teams in the NFL playoffs. My Bears lost, but that play to send the game to overtime was incredible.
This week’s blog entry is a non-precedential decision from the Third Circuit decided on October 8…
Inflexible Return to Work Policies: Granas Update
By William Goren on
EEOC v. William Beaumont Hospital Redux
By William Goren on
This week’s blog entry will be the last substantive blog entry of the calendar year. As mentioned previously, I will put up the greatest hits of 2025 for the Understanding the ADA blog the week of Christmas.
Turning to the blog entry for the week, on November 19, 2025, the United States District Court…
Are Retaliation and Interference Claims Viable under the Rehabilitation Act in Employment Matters? The Sixth Circuit Says No
By William Goren on
Posted in 501, 504, ADA, Constitutional law, Federal Cases, Final Federal Regulations, Rehabilitation Act, Title I, Title IX
Before getting started on the blog entry of the week, a housekeeping matter, I am thinking that there may be one additional substantive blog for the rest of the year before I do the 2025 greatest hits. My thinking is that one more substantive blog entry after this will appear the week of December 8.…
ADA and 504 as an Alternative to §1983 in Excessive Force Cases
By William Goren on
When the Federal Bar Association national convention was held in Kansas City Missouri, I was part of a panel that explored outside the box uses of the ADA. One of the panelist, Jamie Strawbridge, talked about how the ADA/504 can be an alterative to excessive force §1983 cases. The case of the week explores exactly…
Have no Idea as to Why Defense Side Attorneys Keep Defending on the Grounds that an ADA Disability Does Not Exist
By William Goren on
After the amendments to the ADA, it doesn’t make any sense for an attorney to defend on the grounds that a disability doesn’t exist, with a notable exception being where the major life activity of working is involved. It should be a rare situation where plaintiff alleges the major life activity of working considering all…
In Architectural Barrier Litigation, Plaintiff’s Motivation Doesn’t Matter if Plaintiff Has Transacted Business
By William Goren on
I am very regular about posting blog entries for the week. I have rarely missed doing that over the 14 years I have been doing this. I do have a good explanation for missing last week. My father died a week ago today, and I was away for funeral events. By any objective measure he…
Let’s Count the Ways Alcoholism is a Disability
By William Goren on
There is a lot of confusion out there about whether alcoholism is a disability. Illegal use of drugs gets exempted from the ADA but alcoholism is a different story. True, you can evaluate a person engaged in excessive use of alcohol in terms of performance as if the alcohol use doesn’t exist, but that is…
Eighth Amendment, Title II, and Nondelegable Duty
By William Goren on
Posted in 1983, 504, ADA, Constitutional law, Federal Cases, Final Federal Regulations, Rehabilitation Act, Title I
Today’s blog entry is a published decision from the Third Circuit, Montanez v. Price, here decided on October 8, 2025 (which was my birthday). It discusses a series of issues, including: the Eighth Amendment; what is a program, service, and/or activity; and nondelegable duty. More specifically, the blog entry is divided into the following categories…