Opinion ID: 771751
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Contreras's ADA Claims

Text: 12 Contreras claims that the district court erred in granting summary judgment to Suncast on his failure to reasonably accommodate claim. Once again, the bulk of Contreras's argument is devoted to a discussion of similarly situated individuals. Specifically, his brief suggests that [t]he fact that only Contreras of all these people was fired allows the inference that his discharge was related to his requests for accommodations. 4 13 The ADA prohibits discrimination by covered entities, including private employers, against qualified individuals with a disability. Sutton v. United Air Lines, Inc., 527 U.S. 471, 477 (1999). Specifically, the ADA provides that no covered employer shall discriminate against a qualified individual with a disability because of the disability of such individual in regard to job application procedures, the hiring, advancement, or discharge of employees, employee compensation, job training, and other terms, conditions, and privileges of employment. 42 U.S.C. sec. 12112(a). Section 12112(b) of the Act defines the different ways in which discrimination under section (a) might occur. Relevant to our inquiry, the ADA states that not making reasonable accommodations to the known physical or mental limitations of an otherwise qualified individual with a disability who is an applicant or an employee is considered discrimination, unless such covered entity can demonstrate that the accommodation would impose an undue hardship on the operation of the business of such covered entity. 42 U.S.C. sec. 12112(b)(5)(A). Thus, in order for a plaintiff to recover under the ADA for an employer's failure to reasonably accommodate, that plaintiff must first show: (1) that he was or is disabled as defined by the Act, (2) that his employer was aware of the disability, and (3) that he was qualified for the position in question. Best v. Shell Oil Co., 107 F.3d 544, 547-48 (7th Cir. 1997). To qualify for the position in question, the plaintiff must show that he is physically capable of performing the essential functions of the position, with or without an accommodation, and that he meets the legitimate educational, training, experience, and other requirements set by the employer for the position. See Dalton v. Subaru-Isuzu Automotive, Inc., 141 F.3d 667, 676 (7th Cir. 1998). 14 Under the ADA, a disability is defined as: (A) a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of the major life activities of such individual; (B) a record of such an impairment; or (C) being regarded as having such an impairment. 42 U.S.C. sec. 12102(2). Contreras contends that because of his injuries, he was substantially limited in the major life activities of working as well as reproduction/engaging in sexual relations. We examine each of these claims in turn. 15 As it has been defined, substantially limits means that the person is either unable to perform a major life function, or is significantly restricted in the duration, manner, or condition under which the individual can perform a particular major life activity, as compared to the average person in the general population. See 29 C.F.R. sec. 1630.2(j). When we discuss the major life activity of working, substantially limits means the individual is significantly restricted in the ability to perform a class of jobs or a broad range of jobs in various classes. Webb v. Choate Mental Health and Dev. Ctr., 230 F.3d 991, 998 (7th Cir. 2000). Thus an individual is not substantially limited in working just because he or she is unable to perform a particular job for one employer, or because he or she is unable to perform a specialized job or profession requiring extraordinary skill, prowess or talent; instead, the impairment must substantially limit employment generally. 29 C.F.R. sec. 1630.2(j), App. (1999); see Webb, 230 F.3d at 998. As such, Contreras has the burden of presenting evidence to demonstrate that his impairment limited his ability to perform an entire class of jobs. See Skorup v. Modern Door Corp., 153 F.3d 512, 515 (7th Cir. 1998). 16 In support of his claim that he is substantially limited in the major life activity of working, Contreras advances that he is unable to lift in excess of 45 pounds for a long period of time, unable to engage in strenuous work, and unable to drive a forklift for more than four hours a day. Taking Contreras's assertions as fact, we fail to see how such inabilities constitute a significant restriction on one's capacity to work, as the term is understood within the ADA. Contreras has not presented evidence that even hints at the notion that he is precluded from a broad class of jobs. Though this precise claim has not found its way into our published case law, we note that other circuits faced with similar sets of facts have found those limitations do not qualify as a substantial limitation on working (and thus a disability under the ADA). See e.g. Williams v. Channel Master Satellite Sys., Inc., 101 F.3d 346, 349 (4th Cir. 1996) (holding as a matter of law that twenty-five pound lifting limitation-- particularly when compared to an average person's abilities--does not constitute a significant restriction on one's ability to lift, work, or perform any other major life activity); Aucutt v. Six Flags Over Mid-America, 85 F.3d 1311, 1319 (8th Cir. 1996) (holding plaintiff failed to show he was substantially limited in major life activities where a 25-pound lifting restriction was the only medical limitation placed upon [plaintiff's] activities); Ray v. Glidden Co., 85 F.3d 227, 228-29 (5th Cir. 1996) (holding that inability to continuously lift containers weighing on average 44-56 pounds does not render a person substantially limited in the major life activities of lifting or working); Wooten v. Farmland Foods, 58 F.3d 382, 384, 386 (8th Cir. 1995) (plaintiff not substantially limited in major life activity of working where plaintiff was restricted to light duty with no working in cold environment and no lifting items weighing more than 20 pounds). 5 Nor have we ever suggested that forklift operation, the specific job Contreras claims he cannot perform for more than four hours, is broad enough to constitute a class of jobs. It was Contreras's burden on summary judgment to show that he could come up with evidence to show he could meet his ultimate burden of showing an ADA recognized disability. See DePaoli, 140 F.3d at 672. He has not done so. Thus, the district court was correct to reject Contreras's claim that he is substantially limited in the major life activity of working. 17 Contreras also suggests that he is disabled in the major life activities of sexual reproduction and engaging in sexual relations. These claims are based completely on Contreras's unsupported assertion that while he was able to have intercourse 20 times a month prior to his accident, at present he can only have sex two times a month. That sexual reproduction is a major life activity was acknowledged by the Supreme Court in Bragdon v. Abbott, 524 U.S. 624, 639 (1998) (In the absence of any reason to reach a contrary conclusion, we agree with the Court of Appeals' determination that reproduction is a major life activity for the purposes of the ADA). Furthermore, we recognize it may be argued that the Supreme Court may have implied that engaging in sexual relations is a major life activity. See Bragdon, 524 U.S. at 638 ([r]eproduction and the sexual dynamics surrounding it are central to the life process itself.). 6 However, we find Contreras's attempts to liken his situation to that of Bragdon unconvincing. In Bragdon, the Court considered whether HIV was a physical impairment within the meaning of the ADA. In that case, plaintiff brought an action--under the portion of the ADA that dealt with equal access to public accommodations--against a dentist who had refused to treat her in his office. In reaching the conclusion that an HIV infected woman was substantially limited in her ability to reproduce, the Supreme Court focused on the fact that an infected woman who attempts to reproduce imposed a significant risk of transmitting the disease to any male she has intercourse with as well as to her child during gestation and childbirth. Bragdon, 524 U.S. at 639. 18 It is apparent that our present situation is readily distinguishable from Bragdon. The Supreme Court's ruling in that matter does not stand for the proposition that a change in the frequency with which an individual can engage in intercourse, as a result of a bad back, constitutes an impairment which substantially limits a major life activity. Rather, the Court based its decision on the undeniable impact that HIV can have on the feasibility of reproduction. Contreras has not shown any significant impact on his ability to reproduce. He has not produced even a scintilla of evidence that he is significantly restricted as to the condition, manner or duration under which he can reproduce as compared to the average person in the general population. See 29 C.F.R. sec. 1630,2(j)(1). In addition, even if we assume that engaging in sexual relations is a major life activity, Contreras has not substantiated his claim of sexual difficulties with any documentation or testimony beyond a general assertion that the frequency with which he has relations has decreased. Such a bald declaration, without anything more, cannot create a genuine issue of material fact as to Contreras being disabled that would preclude summary judgment. Therefore, we find that it was appropriate to grant Suncast summary judgment on these ADA claims. 19