Opinion ID: 848724
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The PWDCRA

Text: The Court of Appeals noted in its opinion that [t]he ADA's `qualified' language and the PWDCRA's `disability' language require essentially the same analysis... [and] the result under either statute is the same. [21] We agree that both statutes require essentially the same analysis, and in the predominant number of cases, the result under either statute may well be the same. However, because the acts are not identical, and because federal laws and regulations are not binding authority on a Michigan court interpreting a Michigan statute, we caution against simply assuming that the PWDCRA analysis will invariably parallel that of the ADA. [22] Unlike the ADA, the PWDCRA does not provide specific guidance regarding what the duties of a particular job are. Thus, the task falls upon the judiciary to determine how to resolve relevant disputes in the absence of a more specific legislative directive. In doing this, we take into account a number of considerations. First, we take cognizance of the obvious fact that there is statutory silence on this matter in the PWDCRA and that something more than silence is required, in our judgment, to warrant redefining the role of the employer in determining the scope of job positions within its purview. That is, there is no indication anywhere in the PWDCRA that the employer's customary responsibilities in this regard were to be altered by the act, and we decline to read any such indication from the act's silence. Therefore, in the absence of any contrary indication, we believe that the customary responsibilities of the employer in defining the scope of job positions are unaffected by the act and that the judgment of the employer in terms of such scope is entitled to substantial deference by the courts under the PWDCRA. Second, we take into consideration that the PWDCRA is an antidiscrimination statute. It is not a statute designed to regulate, or to set governmental standards for, particular employment positions. Nor is it a statute designed to enable judges to second-guess, or to improve upon, the business judgments of employers. Rather, the PWDCRA's purpose is to ensure that [t]he opportunity to obtain employment... without discrimination because of a disability is established as a protected civil right. MCL 37.1102(1). In order to avoid transforming the PWDCRA from an antidiscrimination statute into something that is unwarrantedly broader, we believe that the judgment of the employer regarding the duties of a given job position is entitled to substantial deference. Third, our analysis regarding what constitute the duties of a particular job is premised on an assumption that the employer is the single most interested person in the world in the success of his business. Therefore, as a general matter, it can reasonably be expected that the functions or duties that the employer specifies for a given position will be those reasonably well-designed to effect the success of such business. It is contrary to the economic interests of a reasonable employer to define a job position in a manner that is either inadequate or irrelevant. While the employer's own judgment about the duties of a job position will not always be dispositive, it is nonetheless always entitled to substantial deference. Finally, in Chmielewski we stated that in interpreting provisions of the HCRA [the former PWDCRA], analogous federal precedents are persuasive, although not necessarily binding....