Employment & Labor Law
Please select a topic from the drop down list
Total Americans With Disabilities Act Cases: 27
The lower court granted summary judgment to the employer in an ADA claim. The plaintiff was placed with a company as a temporary worker, and he was later asked to submit an application for permanent employment. He took a drug test along with this application, which he failed. The plaintiff explained that he had failed because he had a prescription for drugs related to his epilepsy, and the test was then cleared. However, the plaintiff was soon after informed that he would not be hired because he had a “performance and attitude problem.” There had been no previous complaints about the plaintiff. Plaintiff then filed suit and alleged that he was not hired because of a presumed disability and that the company had done an improper medical inquiry. The Court reversed the employer’s summary judgment on appeal, holding that the plaintiff offered sufficient evidence to proceed with a claim alleging that the refusal to hire him caused damages. It also held that, although an employer is allowed to ask follow up questions after a positive drug test, it could not make disability related inquiries. Whether such inquiries had been made in this case was a matter for a jury to determine.
Read More
Petitioner, a disabled inmate, filed suit against respondents, a state and its department of corrections, alleging his confinement conditions violated Title II of the American with Disability Act. The appellate court affirmed the lower court
Read More
[ADA Public Accommodations
Read More
[Employee could not be a qualified individual with a disability when the employee claimed she was eligible for long-term disability which meant she had a condition that she was unable to perform every occupation for which she was qualified or could become qualified for.]
The plaintiff
Read More
D
18 Fla. L. Weekly Fed. C908
2005-08-30
AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT
The appellant sued her former employer for discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) alleging that she was terminated from her position as a product transporter because she had vertigo, a condition which causes a person to experience a sick feeling and dizziness. The district court correctly granted summary judgment for the appellee on the claim that the former employee is disabled because her impairment substantially limits her ability to perform a major life function of working. The appellant
Read More
The district court correctly set aside the jury verdict in favor of the appellant employee and granted judgment as a matter of law for the appellee employer on the appellant
Read More
Higdon v. Jackson
18 Fla. L. Weekly Fed. C136a (11th Cir. Dec. 16, 2004)
2004-12-16
AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT
The plaintiff worked independently, processing car titles for auto-dealers at the DMV. The plaintiff alleged discrimination and retaliation in violation of the ADA and Georgia Statutes, and intentional infliction of emotional distress after she was required to stand in the commercial line, rather than the personal line, before she could use the disabled window; and because two of the DMV employees questioned her assigned day for processing, and bumped her car while she waited in line at the bank window. The district court entered summary judgment for the DMV. The Eleventh Circuit affirmed holding that the plaintiff failed to establish a prima facie case because (1) she failed to show that there was a
Read More
The plaintiff filed charges against his employer alleging national origin and hostile work environment discrimination, retaliation and violation of the ADA and 42 U.S.C.
Read More
The plaintiff suffered from alcoholism and was asked to take an assessment test which - inadvertently - he had not been asked to do when the paygrade of his position was raised. The plaintiff
Read More
Several police officers injured on the job filed suit against the City for employment discrimination under the ADA, after they were refused off-duty employment within the police department because light duty officers were prohibited from taking on additional assignments. The 11th Circuit affirmed the decision of the district court granting the City
Read More
Cotton v. Martin County
17 Fla. L. Weekly Fed. D 361a (S.D. Fla. February 27, 2004)
2004-02-27
AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT
Former employee brought action against county, as employer, alleging violation of Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) because the county did not rehire him in 1999 and 2001 on the basis of his bi-polar condition. Plaintiff also filed a
Read More
The trial court granted Securities' motion for summary judgment, holding that the record did not demonstrate that Wimberly had a disability under the Florida Civil Rights Act (FCRA) or the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Wimberly appealed. Florida courts construe the FCRA in conformity with the ADA. Thus, a disability discrimination action is analyzed under the ADA. Wimberly's complaint alleged he had a disability pursuant to subsection (A) of 42 U.S.C.
Read More
Plaintiff art director, who was terminated following a diagnosis of bilateral hand strain/sprain, sued her employer under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Plaintiff filed a motion for leave to amend her complaint maintaining that during the course of mediation, she discovered that she had a cause of action for retaliatory discharge on the theory that her termination was based, at least in part, on her decision to seek workers' compensation benefits. The district court denied her motion and granted the employer's motion for judgment as a matter of law. Carruthers appealed. The Court of Appeals affirmed. The court held that the employee had to show that her condition rose to the level of a disability and that the employer perceived her as having a disability that substantially limited the major life activity of working. The Court found that the employer did not violate the ADA's prohibition against discrimination based on the perception of disability, since there was no evidence that the employer regarded the plaintiff
Read More
Hernandez tested positive for cocaine and admitted that his behavior violated Raytheon
Read More
Plaintiff filed suit alleging violation of the ADA when she was terminated. Employer moved for summary judgment on the ground that it was not a covered employer under the ADA because it had fewer than 15 employees. The case turned on whether four physician shareholders who owned the corporation and constituted its board of directors should have been counted as employees. The Court stated that the common-law element of control/master-servant was the principal guidepost that should have been followed in the case. The Court also endorsed the EEOC standard set forth in the EEOC Compliance Manual
Read More
The plaintiff was a pilot with the defendant airline and was terminated for fraudulently obtaining disability benefits. The plaintiff filed a grievance with Delta pertaining to his termination, which was denied. The plaintiff appealed this denial to Delta
Read More
Wood v. Green
16 Fla. L. Weekly Fed. c413
2003-03-13
AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT
Plaintiff was employed by the Clerk
Read More
BARNES v. GORMAN
15 Fla. L. Weekly Fed. S373 (S. Ct. June 17, 2002)
2002-06-17
AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT
Paraplegic was injured when he was improperly transported after getting into a fight with a bouncer. He was awarded compensatory and punitive damages after bringing actions under
Read More
Barnes v. Gorman
15 Fla. L. Weekly Fed. S373 (U.S. June 17, 2002)
2002-06-17
AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT
Paraplegic was injured when he was improperly transported after getting into a fight with a bouncer. He was awarded compensatory and punitive damages after bringing actions under
Read More
CHEVRON v. ECHAZABAL
15 Fla. L. Weekly Fed. S344 (S. Ct. June 10, 2002)
2002-06-10
AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT
Plaintiff was employed by an independent contractor at one of Chevron
Read More
Chevron v. Echazabal
15 Fla. L. Weekly Fed. S344 (U.S. June 10, 2002)
2002-06-10
AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT
Plaintiff was employed by an independent contractor at one of Chevron
Read More
OLMSTEAD v. DEFOSSET
15 Fla. L. Weekly Fed. D325 (M.D. Fla. June 5, 2002)
2002-06-05
AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT
Plaintiff went on disability leave in 1995 when he was diagnosed with AIDS. He received disability benefits from July of 1995 to May of 1997, when his benefits were discontinued because he was a
Read More
Olmstead v. Defosset
15 Fla. L. Weekly Fed. D325 (M.D. Fla. June 5, 2002)
2002-06-05
AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT
Plaintiff went on disability leave in 1995 when he was diagnosed with AIDS. He received disability benefits from July of 1995 to May of 1997, when his benefits were discontinued because he was a
Read More
In his application for employment with Waffle House, Eric Baker agreed that "any dispute or claim" concerning his employment would be "settled by binding arbitration." After Baker began working as a grill operator at a Waffle House restaurant, he suffered a seizure at work and was soon discharged. He did not initiate arbitration proceedings, but timely filed a charge of discrimination with the EEOC alleging that his discharge violated the ADA.
The Court of Appeals concluded that a valid, enforceable arbitration agreement between Baker and Waffle House existed. However, the court concluded that the agreement did not foreclose the EEOC
Read More
The 11th Circuit evaluated whether the District Court properly held that Plaintiff, an HIV-positive dental hygienist, was not otherwise qualified for his employment position because he posed a direct threat to patients.
The Court determined that the record established that the District Court properly granted summary judgment to Defendant because an HIV-infected dental hygienist posed a significant risk of HIV transmission to his patients. Because Plaintiff performed some procedures that entailed the use of sharp instruments, there was a risk that he could cut or prick himself and bleed into an open wound or abrasion in a patient
Read More
Plaintiff was employed as a bus operator with the Miami-Dade Transit Agency (MDTA) until he was fired on August 3, 2000. Plaintiff brought suit claiming he was fired in violation of the ADA and asserted that the MDTA Director became hostile toward him and threatened him with the loss of his job because he served as an advocate for his co-worker during a disciplinary hearing, and assisted the co-worker in filing a charge of disability discrimination with the EEOC. Defendants, however, claimed that the Plaintiff was fired for his failure to take a post accident drug test.
On December 12, 2000, a hearing examiner issued a report which concluded that the Plaintiff violated the Defendant
Read More
Respondent claimed to be disabled due to her carpal tunnel syndrome and other related impairments and sued her former employer for failing to provide her with a reasonable accommodation as required by the Americans With Disabilities Act. The District Court granted summary judgment to Petitioner, finding that Respondent
Read More
