A new Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal ruling highlights that you can’t threaten an employee with discipline, demotion, or discharge for exercising their rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act, including the right to an accommodation.
Employee Taken Off “On-Call” Duty
Brenda Brown was a Tucson, Ariz., police detective in the neighborhood crimes unit. When Brown returned from a medical leave for severe depression, the department’s consulting psychologist recommended against requiring Brown to work nighttime “on-call” duty because it would contribute to her depression by disrupting her sleep habits. Brown’s personal physician also noted she had been prescribed certain medications to help her sleep that might impair her ability to drive at night.
Supervisor Questions Accommodation
Over the next two months, Brown’s supervisor, Sgt. Robert Holliday, talked to Brown a number of times about her inability to perform on-call duty, in an effort, he said, to look for ways Brown could be a participating member of the crimes unit. Holliday told Brown she would be transferred, demoted, or required to take medical retirement if she didn’t stop taking her medications for a week so she could perform the on-call duty. He also tried to obtain information from Brown about her disability and told her she was goofing off.
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Employee Files ADA Lawsuit
Brown eventually sued the department, alleging that Holliday’s threat that she would be demoted or fired unless she gave up her accommodation violated the ADA’s prohibition against coercing, intimidating, threatening, or interfering with an employee because they exercised rights under the ADA.
ADA Prohibits Threats
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which covers California, now says Brown can take her case to a jury. The ADA prohibits a supervisor from threatening an individual with transfer, demotion, or forced retirement unless the person foregoes an accommodation allowed under the law. However, said the court, the employee must demonstrate that they suffered an injury as a result of the threat, such as giving up ADA rights, or some harm resulting from refusing to give up the rights or from the threat itself.
In this case, Holliday’s demands that Brown stop taking her medication and perform on-call duty or face demotion or forced retirement were threats. Plus, a jury could find that Brown was hurt by the threats because she alleged she felt extremely stressed, harassed, and pressured by Holliday.
Supervisor Training Guidelines
To avoid similar disputes, train supervisors on how to manage disabled employees, stressing the strict limits on asking employees about their medical condition. Inform them during the training that it is illegal to retaliate, or threaten to retaliate, against an employee who has exercised their rights under the ADA. As this case shows, inappropriate remarks by just one supervisor can lead to an expensive lawsuit.