HR Management & Compliance

ADA: Did Employer Have the Right to Discharge Employee for Lingering Wound?

By Libby Rasmussen, JD

Employers can find themselves between a rock and a hard place when an employee’s illness or injury poses a risk to other people—e.g., patients, customers, and colleagues. Employers have an understandable desire to keep others out of harm’s way, but they could face a disability discrimination suit if they don’t execute their plan properly. This area is especially tricky for employers that serve people who are more susceptible to illness or infection.

The Washington Court of Appeals, Division III, recently reversed a trial court’s decision to grant summary judgment (pretrial dismissal) to a health clinic that discharged a medical assistant because of a lingering wound on her abdomen.

There are four main takeaways from the court of appeals’ decision, and most of them center on assumptions that employers should not make.

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