By Gregory J. Wartman, JD
A Pennsylvania federal court recently considered an employee’s Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) claims for disparate treatment, harassment and retaliation.
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In 2005, Edens Corporation hired Dennis Henderson to work as a paratransit driver. In April 2007, Henderson was seriously injured in an automobile accident while he was driving for Edens and was approved for workers’ compensation benefits. A month later, WORKNET, the occupational medical clinic where he was treated for workers’ comp purposes, medically released him to return to work full-time.
After he was released, Edens instructed Henderson to report back to work and suspended his workers’ compensation benefits. He then saw a private physician, who reached the opposite conclusion. As a result, he didn’t return to work. He filed a workers’ comp claim with the Pennsylvania Bureau of Workers’ Compensation in June 2007.