Handling An Employee with A Disability: A Textbook Case On How to Do It RIGHT!

Many of the case stories presented here illustrate what not to do; in this story, the supervisor did it right!

This case, described in AHI’s Employment Law Resource Center, involves an employee who informs her supervisor during lunch that she was diagnosed as having diabetes and occasionally has an hypoglycemic episode, which means that she might pass out or even fall asleep while standing.

Her job? She is a forklift operator!

What would you do if you were her supervisor?

Read on to see what her supervisor did and what the courts ruled when she sued…..

What the supervisor did was talk with the company’s medical director, who obtained further information about her condition. Based on the information he obtained, it was decided that she could no longer work in this function. Furthermore, there was another employee with the same condition, who had been prohibited from serving as a forklift operator.

There were, however, other job openings in the company, one of which she was qualified for and accepted. The new position, though, did not have overtime, resulting in a loss of thousands of dollars of pay. The employee sued the company under ADA.

The company won in trial and prevailed in the subsequent appeal.

Some lessons include:

1. Get information from relevant sources, such as the medical director, when the need arises;

2. Focus on safety reasons for the removal;

3. Present alternative job options;

4. Review past treatment of other employees with similar conditions.

Finally, EEOC recently released a helpful document, on diabetes. This document may be helpful in avoiding ADA problems.

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