News Notes: New ADA Ruling Protects Seniority Systems

Last year, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal ruled that, in most cases, an employer doesn’t have to make an exception to an established seniority system to provide an accommodation to a disabled worker. Now, the same court has clarified its original ruling, going even farther in protecting seniority policies. The case involved a disabled San Francisco baggage handler who wanted U.S. Airways to give him a job even though he lacked enough seniority to bid for it. In rejecting the claim, the court’s new decision says that employers never have to modify a legitimately established seniority policy to give preference to a disabled worker.