Over the years, it isn’t often that I see a missed opportunity (see below for a further discussion of whether an opportunity was really missed here), by a defendant in an ADA case to make a plaintiff’s litigation more difficult when the law allows them to do so. It is possible (though a for sure
Federal Cases
I wanna be a lifeguard with apologies to blotto part 2
In a prior blog entry, I talked about a case out of Michigan whereby the District Court granted summary judgment to the County when the county refused to hire a person who wanted to be a lifeguard because he was deaf. Well now the Sixth Circuit has weighed in and has reversed the district…
Segregation of HIV-positive inmates will not fly
Hope everyone had a great holiday season. Wishing everybody a healthy, happy, and successful new year! In case you want to take a break from bowl games over the next couple of days, here is something you might read:-)
Alabama and South Carolina are the only States segregating inmates that are HIV-positive. In the Alabama…
Intersection between the FMLA and the ADA as amended: how it can get you in trouble
Over the years, lots of people have written about the intersection between Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), myself included. You simply cannot deal with the ADA and not be aware of the FMLA and vice-versa. Some of the things to be aware of is that the FMLA…
Are public colleges and public universities immune from suit as a result of sovereign immunity in ADA matters
In a previous blog entry, the principle of sovereign immunity and how they might apply to a County was discussed. What wasn’t discussed, was whether sovereign immunity would apply to a public university or public college. A case that addresses this is Doe v. Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska, 280…
All by myself (with apologies to Eric Carmen): to file suit under title III of the ADA, do you have to first exhaust administrative remedies?
Title I of the Americans With Disabilities Act requires that a person seeking to file a claim for employment discrimination must first file a claim with the EEOC or a substantially equivalent state agency and receive a right to sue letter before proceeding in court. What if you wish to file a claim under title…
Does the obligation to keep information confidential extend beyond medical exams and medical inquiries?
Previously, I have written that, “the Americans with Disabilities Act requires that medical information obtained on an employee or prospective employee be kept confidential.” See Understanding the Americans with Disabilities Act, third edition at p. 40. However, in light of EEOC v. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans , _F.3d_, 2012 WL 5846208 (7th Cir. November 20,…
“Regarded as” and title II and are there different rules for “direct threat” depending upon the context
Recently, I read a case out of the Western District of Pennsylvania which I found absolutely fascinating. In this particular case, the court dealt with three issues. First, does the plaintiff have a disability at all? Second, does “regarded as” even apply outside of the title I context? Finally, was the plaintiff a direct threat…
Mixed motive: another permutation and do lawyers have it backwards
A hot area of the Americans with Disabilities Act jurisprudence is the question of mixed motive. That is, can a plaintiff get a mixed motive jury instruction in Americans with Disabilities Act cases, or for that matter in Rehabilitation Act cases as well, in light of Gross v. FBL Financial Services? Previously, we have…
Sovereign immunity principles outside of sovereign immunity claims and the importance of self-evaluation and transition plans
In a previous blog entry, I talked about the principle of sovereign immunity as it applies to persons with disabilities. As mentioned in that blog entry, a state, including an arm of the state, is not going to be forced to waive its sovereign immunity with respect to disability discrimination in employment matters.…