Opinion ID: 611025
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Transfer for Medical Treatment

Text: 13 The government contends that the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (the Act) does not require the Postal Service to transfer Buckingham to Los Angeles so that he can receive better medical treatment. The government argues that there is a per se rule that job transfers are not reasonable accommodations under the Act. The government also argues that Buckingham's transfer request is not a reasonable accommodation to his handicap because it is not tied to his ability to perform the essential functions of his job. 14 It is undisputed that Buckingham is a handicapped individual who is entitled to protection under the Act. See Chalk v. U.S. Dist. Ct. Cent. Dist. of Cal., 840 F.2d 701 (9th Cir.1988) (finding that the Act is applicable to individuals afflicted with AIDS). Section 501 of the Act, 29 U.S.C. § 791, requires federal agencies to act affirmatively to structure their procedures and programs so as to ensure that handicapped individuals are afforded equal opportunity in both job assignment and promotion. Prewitt v. United States Postal Serv., 662 F.2d 292, 306 (5th Cir.1981) (quoting Ryan v. Federal Deposit Ins. Corp., 565 F.2d 762, 763 (D.C.Cir.1977)). The duty on employers thus goes beyond mere nondiscrimination; the regulations promulgated under section 501 emphasize the affirmative obligation to accommodate: 15 An agency shall make reasonable accommodation to the known physical or mental limitations of a qualified handicapped applicant or employee unless the agency can demonstrate that the accommodation would impose an undue hardship on the operation of its program. 16 29 C.F.R. § 1613.704(a). 17 We have interpreted the Act to place the burden on plaintiffs to prove that they are qualified handicapped individuals. Mantolete v. Bolger, 767 F.2d 1416, 1423 (9th Cir.1985). The regulations define Qualified Handicapped individuals as ones who, with or without reasonable accommodation, can perform the essential functions of their job. 29 C.F.R. § 1613.702(f). If accommodation to their handicap is required to enable them to perform essential job functions, then plaintiffs must only provide evidence sufficient to make at least a facial showing that reasonable accommodation is possible. Arneson v. Heckler, 879 F.2d 393, 396 (8th Cir.1989); see also 29 C.F.R. § 1613.702(f)(2). 18 An employer, to meet its burden under the Act, may not merely speculate that a suggested accommodation is not feasible. When accommodation is required to enable the employee to perform the essential functions of the job, the employer has a duty to gather sufficient information from the applicant and qualified experts as needed to determine what accommodations are necessary to enable the applicant to perform the job.... Mantolete, 767 F.2d at 1423 (emphasis in original). 19 Given the duty the Act places on employers, there is no merit to the government's argument that there is a per se rule against transfers as reasonable accommodations. We have approved of or recommended a wide range of strategies for the reasonable accommodation of handicapped employees. See, e.g., Fuller v. Frank, 916 F.2d 558, 560 (9th Cir.1990) (finding that the Post Office reasonably accommodated an alcoholic employee by repeatedly granting leave and recommending treatment despite recurring relapses); Lucero v. Hart, 915 F.2d 1367, 1372 (9th Cir.1990) (county, upon discovering that an employee had failed to qualify for her job, allowed her to retake the test, drove her to the test, and made numerous subsequent offers to allow her to retake the test or obtain alternative employment with the county). 20 Other circuits have explicitly recommended the consideration of transfers to different locations. See Langon v. Dep't of Health and Human Services, 959 F.2d 1053, 1060 (D.C.Cir.1992) (remanding for consideration of whether employee's handicap could be accommodated by working at home); Arneson, 879 F.2d at 398 (remanding for the employer to consider transfer to another office and employment of a part-time assistant to reasonably accommodate employee with a neurological disorder). 21 Buckingham is not asking for the type of job transfer that the Supreme Court has suggested might not be required under the Act. See School Bd. of Nassau County v. Arline, 480 U.S. 273, 289 n. 19, 107 S.Ct. 1123, 1131 n. 19, 94 L.Ed.2d 307 (1987) (Although [employers] are not required to find another job for an employee who is not qualified for the job he or she was doing, they cannot deny an employee alternative employment opportunities reasonably available under the employer's existing policies.). Buckingham is not asking for a different job. Nor is he asking for a job that is not reasonably available under the Postal Service's existing policies. See Part III.B below. He is asking for the same job at a different location. It is not per se unreasonable under the Rehabilitation Act to transfer Buckingham to a location where he can obtain better medical treatment for his handicap. 22 Furthermore, contrary to what the government urges, employers are not relieved of their duty to accommodate when employees are already able to perform the essential functions of the job. Qualified handicapped employees who can perform all job functions may require reasonable accommodation to allow them to (a) enjoy the privileges and benefits of employment equal to those enjoyed by non-handicapped employees or (b) pursue therapy or treatment for their handicaps. In other words, an employer is obligated not to interfere, either through action or inaction, with a handicapped employee's efforts to pursue a normal life. See McWright v. Alexander, 982 F.2d 222, 227 (7th Cir.1992). 3 In some instances, this may require employers to alter existing policies or procedures that they would not change for non-handicapped employees, but that is the essence of reasonable accommodation. McWright, 982 F.2d at 227. We stress, however, that the requested accommodations must be reasonable, and that an employer can show that a requested accommodation is unreasonable by demonstrating that it would result in undue hardship for the employer. See Mantolete, 767 F.2d at 1423; 29 C.F.R. § 1613.704(c).