The Americans with Disabilities Act requires you to try to reach an accommodation in cases involving mental or physical disabilities by engaging in an “interactive process” with an employee. But a recent case involving United Airlines highlights several missteps to avoid—and some specific measures to take—to satisfy the ADA.
Therapist Confirms Problems
Cheryl Gile, a United data entry operator in Chicago, volunteered to work the night shift. Three years later she took maternity leave. After returning, she began complaining of depression, anxiety, insomnia and exhaustion. A therapist traced Gile’s psychological problems, in part, to working at night and recommended that she be given a daytime assignment.United’s medical director refused the transfer request, saying Gile’s symptoms sounded like a personal problem, not an illness. He suggested she “just resign and stay home.”Gile went on indefinite authorized leave. Several months later, the company sent her a termination letter saying she had abandoned her job.She sued United for failing to reasonably accommodate her psychological disability by not transferring her to a day shift. The airline argued that Gile failed to act on her own behalf by not bidding for a new position while she was on leave.
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Employer Didn’t Do Enough
But a jury saw it differently, and so did a federal Court of Appeal. The court said United should have taken the initiative in Gile’s case by participating in a “flexible interactive process” to craft an accommodation that would have let her return to work.Because the employer basically did nothing to accommodate Gile, the court upheld the jury’s verdict in her favor, but reduced a $700,000 award in punitive and compensatory damages to $200,000.
Concrete Approaches
This case suggests a handful of do’s and don’ts for dealing with employees with mental or other disabilities:
- Don’t expect the employee to find a solution. United believed it did enough to accommodate Gile by leaving it to her to bid for a different position. But the duty to find a reasonable accommodation wasn’t Gile’s alone.
- Don’t be inflexible about providing special treatment. United’s manager balked at Gile’s transfer request, telling her that if she transferred to the day shift, other employees would expect special treatment, too. When you’re confronted with a disability diagnosis, special treatment may be required if it doesn’t cause you an undue hardship. But you don’t have to create a new position or bump another employee from an existing job.
- Don’t disregard professionals. United didn’t dispute that Gile had psychological problems yet chalked them up to personal family issues, ignoring her therapist’s conclusions.
- Do be proactive. If your initial efforts to accommodate a worker with a disability don’t pan out, make an extra effort to find a solution. This will help avoid a claim that you didn’t go as far as you should have.
- Do get your own fitness-for-duty exam. If you have questions about an employee’s claim of disability or the accuracy of a diagnosis, have your own expert evaluate the employee.