Employment / 1 min read
The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals recently affirmed the dismissal of an ADA lawsuit brought by a delivery driver with a rare form of Tourette’s Syndrome. The driver’s disability caused involuntary tics that resulted in him saying inappropriate and obscene words, including racial slurs. The employer knew about the driver’s disability when it hired him, but claimed it did not know the extent of his condition. The employer then began receiving customer complaints about the driver’s language. The driver’s outburst reportedly made his colleagues and customers very uncomfortable.
The driver sued his employer under the ADA, claiming that it failed to accommodate his disability and constructively discharged him by transferring him to a lower paying warehouse job. The employer argued on summary judgment that the driver could not provide excellent customer service, which was an essential function of his role. The employer also argued that, aside from transferring the driver to another position, it could not reasonably accommodate the driver. The trial court agreed with the employer and dismissed the case.
On appeal, the Sixth Circuit held that the driver’s involuntary use of racist and profane words in the presence of customers showed his inability to perform the essential function of his delivery job. The court also found that the employer made several reasonable accommodations for the driver by, for example, allowing medical leave and eventually transferring Plaintiff to the warehouse. On these grounds, the Sixth Circuit affirmed the trial court’s dismissal of the driver’s lawsuit.
This case offers employers new guidance for addressing employees with disabilities that cause inappropriate behavior or outbursts. Based on this opinion, employers need not tolerate inappropriate behavior or outbursts—even if caused by a disability. Though employers must still attempt to provide reasonable accommodation, the court held that the ADA does not require an employer to ignore obscene behavior to discharge its accommodation obligations. Examples of reasonable accommodations for employees with mental conditions, including Tourette’s Syndrome, include without limitation:
- Allowing for unpaid leave;
- Changing or eliminating non-essential duties;
- Changing the way certain duties are performed; and
- Possible transfer of the employee to another job.