This particular blog entry deals with three different topics all contained within the same case. The case is Powell v. Valdosta City School District, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 157158 (M.D. GA November 6, 2014). As is my usual, I have divided the blog entries into categories: facts, issues, holdings, court’s reasoning, and takeaways. The
Federal Cases
How not to defend essential functions of the job
By William Goren on
In a previous blog entry, I discussed how a company could do an excellent job of defending litigation over what are essential functions of the job. This particular blog entry deals with the opposite scenario, where the company does not do a very good job at all of accomplishing that task. The case is…
Belton v. Georgia settles with a consent decree
By William Goren on
In a previous blog entry entitled help-wanted ASL practitioners, I discussed the case of Belton v. Georgia. On October 3, 2014 that case settled with a consent decree. I thought it would be helpful to cover some of the salient points of the consent decree. They are as follows:
Definitional Terms:
1. A deaf…
A twofer: magic words and whether a battle is worth fighting (Title I and Title III)
By William Goren on
This week’s blog entry is a twofer. In the first case, we will discuss whether magic words are necessary for getting a reasonable accommodation. In the second case, we will discuss what I believe is the long-term folly of not going the extra mile when it comes to making a place of public accommodation accessible.…
Just because infertility is a disability doesn’t mean the treatment for it is protected by the ADA
By William Goren on
Robin Shea, the blogger of one of the blogs in my blogroll, talked about the case for this week in a recent blog of hers. The case is Herx v. Diocese of Fort Wayne South Bend. Robin’s perspective is always great and fun to read, but I wanted to offer my own perspective as…
Police liability for not knowing or ignoring the ADA
By William Goren on
In a comment to a previous blog entry, I discussed the case of Gipson v. Popeye’s Chicken and Biscuits. In that case, the Northern District of Georgia said that considering what police have to do, it wasn’t right to impose ADA liability on the police since the police are not lawyers and have…
Blown up Sir!: Olmstead Budget Cuts Litigation Just Got A LOT Harder for Plaintiffs
By William Goren on
One of my favorite movies of all time is Stripes with Bill Murray and Harold Ramis and John Candy and others. There is a scene in that movie where the Sergeant is on a platform and that platform gets destroyed by mortar fire because the commanding officer, John Larroquette, who is absolutely incompetent, demands that…
Medical inquiries, medical exams, disability related inquiries, job relatedness, and consistent with business necessity
By William Goren on
I
Overview
The ADA has a whole scheme that deals with medical inquiries/exams/ disability related inquiries. Basically, the way it works is this:
1. Preemployment medical inquiries/ exams are prohibited. However, nothing wrong with asking whether a person can do what would be an essential function of the job. That said, if you are going…
Why the majority and dissenting opinion in the Ninth Circuit case of Weaving v. City of Hillsboro both got it wrong
By William Goren on
I first found out about this case- Weaving v. City of Hillsboro, a published decision from the Ninth Circuit decided August 15, 2014- from reading Jon Hyman’s excellent blog entry on it, which can be found here.
Jon does an excellent job of describing the facts of the case and I quote from…
Can You Get Compensatory and Punitive Damages in ADA Retaliation Claims
By William Goren on
Your client asked for reasonable accommodations/modifications and was retaliated against for doing so. Let’s assume that the retaliation is fairly obvious. The question becomes when you file a retaliation claim are you going to be able to get compensatory and punitive damages? Might it depend upon the title or law that you are suing under?…