Does the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) require an employer to be more lenient when it comes to applying workplace conduct rules to an employee with a covered disability? Consistent with longstanding enforcement guidance issued by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and well-established case law, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit ruled recently that the answer is no.
In DeWitt v. Southwestern Bell Telephone Company, No. 14-3192 (Jan. 18, 2017), the appeals court found that a diabetic customer service representative who intentionally hung up twice during customer calls was not protected by the ADA. The court concluded that because the workplace rule at issue —not to hang up on customers — was job-related, and because the employee only asked to be excused from the rule as a reasonable accommodation after she had violated it, the ADA did not obligate the employer to excuse the violation.
A copy of the Tenth Circuit’s decision in DeWitt is available online at https://www.ca10.uscourts.gov/opinions/14/14-3192.pdf
Members of the Equal Employment Advisory Council (EEAC) can read more here.