The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) made significant progress in managing the pending inventory of charges in fiscal year 2017. EEOC offices deployed new strategies to more efficiently prioritize charges with merit and more quickly resolve investigations once the agency had sufficient information. Together with improvements in the agency’s digital systems, these strategies produced an increase in charge resolutions and a significant decrease in charge inventory. As a result, in fiscal year 2017 the EEOC resolved 99,109 charges and reduced the charge workload by 16.2 percent to 61,621, the lowest level of inventory in 10 years. Additionally, during the fiscal year, the EEOC handled over 540,000 calls to the toll-free number and more than 155,000 contacts about possible charge filing in field offices, resulting in 84,254 charges being filed.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) launched an EEOC Public Portal to provide online access to individuals inquiring about discrimination. “This secure online system makes the EEOC and an individual’s charge information available wherever and whenever it is most convenient for that individual,” said EEOC Acting Chair Victoria A. Lipnic. “It’s a giant leap forward for the EEOC in providing online services.”

Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital, a regional medical center located in Albany, Ga., violated federal disability discrimination law when it fired an employee after she requested leave due to her medical condition, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit it filed. According to the EEOC’s suit, in May 2016, Phoebe Putney discharged Medical Records Analyst Wendy Kelley rather than grant her request for a reasonable accommodation in the form of leave to receive treatment for her medical condition. Kelley was fired within days of requesting two weeks of medical leave to comply with her doctor’s restrictions that she not work during that time. Due to her condition, Kelley fainted at the hospital’s facility on the way to meet with her supervisor about her request for leave. Instead of rescheduling the meeting, Phoebe Putney denied Kelley’s request for leave and terminated her employment.

Kaiser Aluminum Corporation, the leading producer of fabricated aluminum products in the United States, will pay $175,000 and reinstate its hiring offer to a qualified production worker to settle a disability discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency announced. According to the EEOC’s suit, Kaiser withdrew its job offer for production work at its Trentwood mill in Spokane after Donald McMurray’s medical records showed a workplace injury from over 10 years ago.

The Atlanta office of a commercial real estate and investment management company headquartered in Chicago violated federal law by discriminating against a job applicant because of her disability, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit it filed. According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, Jones Lang LaSalle Americas, Inc. (JLL), violated federal law when it rescinded a job offer to a development and asset strategy production support analyst position in April 2016 after the applicant disclosed her diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and requested to work remotely once per week to attend medical appointments related to her disability.

Chariot Transit, Inc. has entered a landmark settlement agreement with the United States Attorney’s Office to resolve allegations that the San Francisco-based company violated Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by discriminating against customers with disabilities, announced United States Attorney Brian J. Stretch. As part of the settlement, Chariot will pay a $50,000 civil penalty to the United States and take numerous steps to ensure that it provides equivalent service to individuals with disabilities.

This agreement resolves a title III complaint filed with the Justice Department alleging discrimination on the basis of an individual being HIV positive. Valley Hope Association, operating residential addiction facilities, had a policy requiring persons that are HIV positive to room alone. Additionally, persons that are HIV positive were not allowed to work in the facilities kitchen when other patients were allowed to do so. For the duration of the agreement and within 21 days of receipt of any written or oral complaint made to Valley Hope alleging discrimination based on HIV or AIDS, Valley Hope will send written notification to the Justice Department with a copy of any such written complaint and a complete copy of Valley Hope’s response. Within 30 days of the effective date of the Agreement, Valley Hope will submit a draft non-discrimination policy to the Justice for its review and approval. The non-discrimination policy will state that Valley Hope does not discriminate in the provision of services to persons with disabilities, including persons who have HIV or AIDS. The non-discrimination policy will also direct those with questions, concerns, or complaints about how to make contact with Valley Hope regarding those issues.

The Department of Justice announced that it reached an agreement with the city of New Albany, Indiana (New Albany), to resolve its lawsuit alleging that the New Albany Police Department and Merit Commission discriminated against an employee on the basis of his disability, in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

The Justice Department announced today that it reached an agreement with Bar-T Year Round Programs for Kids (Bar-T), located in Montgomery County, Maryland, to remedy alleged violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Title III of the ADA prohibits public accommodations, including child care centers, from discriminating against individuals with disabilities and those associated with them. Bar-T is the largest provider of before and after school programs in Montgomery County, operating at approximately 30 Montgomery County public school locations.

The United States Attorney’s Office reached a settlement agreement with the Park School, resolving allegations that the school violated Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by discriminating against a student with a disability. The Park School is an independent school in Brookline that serves over 560 students from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade. After conducting an investigation, the U.S. Attorney’s Office determined that Park School violated Title III of the ADA by denying a prospective student with a disability admission to the school without making an appropriate, individualized assessment of the school’s ability to accommodate the student. U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ)

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ADA Does Not Require Employers to Provide Multi-Month Leave Beyond Expiration of FMLA Leave – Seventh Circuit – Lexology. This week the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals issued a decision helpful to employers grappling with whether they must extend an employee’s time off following the expiration of Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) leave as a reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). See Severson v. Heartland Woodcraft, Inc., No. 15-3754, 2017 WL 4160849 (7th Cir., Sept. 20, 2017).

In Severson, the court found that “[a] multimonth leave of absence is beyond the scope of a reasonable accommodation under the ADA.” Plaintiff, Severson, had a physically demanding job working for a fabricator of retail display fixtures. Severson took twelve weeks of FMLA leave due to serious back pain. During his leave, he scheduled back surgery (to occur on the last day of his FMLA leave), and requested an additional three months of leave. Defendant, Heartland, denied Severson’s request to continue his medical leave beyond the FMLA entitlement, terminated his employment, and invited him to reapply when he was medically cleared to work. Instead, Severson sued, alleging disability discrimination.

In affirming summary judgment in favor of the employer, the 7th Circuit noted that “[t]he ADA is an antidiscrimination statute, not a medical-leave entitlement.” Following its earlier decision in Byrne v. Avon Prods., 328 F.3d 379 (7th Cir. 2003), the court also stated that “an employee who needs long-term medical leave cannot work and thus is not a ‘qualified individual’ under the ADA.” In other words, “an extended leave of absence does not give a disabled individual the means to work; it excuses his not working.” Id. Simply put, offering a reasonable accommodation does not require absolving the employee from performing the essential functions of the position.

In support of the employee in Severson, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) argued that a long-term medical leave of absence – beyond that required by the FMLA – should qualify as a reasonable accommodation if it is for a definite time period, is requested in advance, and would enable the employee to perform his or her job on return from leave. (The EEOC’s general position regarding Granting Leave as Reasonable Accommodation is available here: Employer-Provided Leave and the Americans with Disabilities Act (May 9, 2016).) Rejecting this argument, the Seventh Circuit found that the EEOC’s interpretation would effectively transform the ADA into an open-ended extension of the FMLA.

While employers can be encouraged by the 7th Circuit’s ruling in Severson, they should continue to conduct an individualized, fact-specific inquiry into any particular employee’s request for accommodation, including a leave of absence. In this regard, the court was careful to note that intermittent leave, such as for conditions that may require periodic time off due to flare-ups, and even short leaves of absence, “say, a couple of days or even a couple of weeks,” could be considered reasonable accommodations in certain circumstances.

Bryan Cave LLP – Tamara Koury and Christy E. Phanthavong

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