Opinion ID: 180580
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Reasonable Accommodations and Otherwise Qualified Individuals

Text: Jakubowski claims the district court erred by concluding that he was not an otherwise qualified individual. The term `qualified individual' means an individual who, with or without reasonable accommodation, can perform the essential functions of the employment position that such individual holds or desires. 42 U.S.C. § 12111(8) (2008). Essential functions are fundamental job duties of the employment position the individual with a disability holds. 29 C.F.R. § 1630.2(n)(1) (2010). [C]onsideration shall be given to the employer's judgment as to what functions of a job are essential. ... Id. Christ Hospital identified communicating with professional colleagues and patients in ways that ensure patient safety as an essential function that Jakubowski must be able to perform. Based on the uncontroverted evidence in the record, it appears that many healthcare professionals work together to care for a single patient. The ultimate success of that care requires the patient, physicians, nurses, and technicians to communicate clearly with each other, or else, patients could be harmed or even die. Furthermore, as the employer, Christ Hospital's identification of these functions as essential should be given some consideration. See 42 U.S.C. § 12111(8). Accordingly, we agree that there is no dispute that these functions are essential to the work of a family practice physician residency training program. Because Jakubowski admittedly had difficulty performing these functions, some kind of accommodations would be necessary for him to continue his work. See id. § 12112(b)(5)(A). Thus, whether Jakubowski was a qualified individual depends on whether he proposed a reasonable accommodation to account for his disability.