Opinion ID: 3001545
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: analysis

Text: Garg argues on appeal that the district court erred by granting summary judgment to the Postal Service because she alleges that she established a prima facie case under the Rehabilitation Act. Specifically, Garg contends that she raised a genuine issue of material fact regarding whether she suffered from a disability under the terms of the Rehabilitation Act. However, Garg does not challenge the district court’s holding that regardless of the nature of her condition, the Postal Service afforded reasonable accommodations to her. Likewise, Garg does not appeal the district court’s grant of summary judgment to the Postal Service on her constructive-discharge claim. We review the district court’s grant of summary judgment de novo. See Smith, 445 F.3d at 1006. “Summary judgment is only appropriate where ‘the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits . . . show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.’ ” Id. (quoting Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(c)); see also Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322 (1986). “ ’We may affirm summary judgment on any basis we find in the record.’ ” Winters v. Fru-Con Inc., 498 F.3d 734, 743 (7th Cir. 2007) (quoting Aviles v. Cornell Forge Co., 183 F.3d 598, 603 (7th Cir. 1999)). The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), 42 U.S.C. § 12111 et seq., and Rehabilitation Act “ ’prohibit an employer from discriminating against a qualified individual with a disability because of the disability.’ ” Jackson v. City of Chicago, 414 F.3d 806, 810 (7th Cir. 2005) (quoting Silk v. City of Chicago, 194 F.3d 788, 798 (7th Cir. 1999)). To establish a prima facie case under the Rehabilitation Act, Garg 8 No. 07-2377 must prove that she (1) falls within the ADA’s statutory definition of “disabled,” meaning that she has a “physical or mental impairment that substantially limits a major life activity, a record of such impairment, or [is] regarded as having such impairment,” see 42 U.S.C. § 12102(2); (2) is otherwise qualified to perform the essential functions of her job, with or without reasonable accommodation; and (3) has suffered an adverse employment decision because of the disability. Scheerer v. Potter, 443 F.3d 916, 918 (7th Cir. 2006); Peters v. City of Mauston, 311 F.3d 835, 842 (7th Cir. 2002). We examine our precedent under the ADA to determine whether Garg has made out a prima facie case under the Rehabilitation Act. Scheerer, 443 F.3d at 919; Jackson, 414 F.3d at 810-11. We have stated that an employer violates the ADA only if a terminated employee can establish that reasonable accommodations exist that would have enabled that employee to perform the essential functions of his or her job. Hammel v. Eau Galle Cheese Factory, 407 F.3d 852, 865-66 (7th Cir. 2005). This is because “the ADA does not shelter disabled individuals from adverse employment actions if the individual, for reasons unrelated to his disability . . . is not qualified for the job or is unable to perform the job’s essential functions . . . .” Hammel, 407 F.3d at 862; see also Williams v. United Ins. Co. of Amer., 253 F.3d 280, 282 (7th Cir. 2001). It is clear that a worker who cannot do the job even with a reasonable accommodation has no claim under the ADA. See, e.g., DePaoli v. Abbott Labs., 140 F.3d 668, 674 (7th Cir. 1998); Matthews v. Commonwealth Edison Co., 128 F.3d 1194, 1195 (7th Cir. 1997). This is true even if the employee’s inability to perform the job “ ’is due entirely to a disability.’ ” Hammel, 407 F.3d at 865 (quoting Matthews, 128 F.3d at 1195). No. 07-2377 9 Garg devoted her entire appellate brief, and the balance of oral argument, to her contention that the district court erred by finding that she was not disabled. But conspicuously absent is any argument that the district court erred by ruling that the Postal Service reasonably accommodated her; Garg has therefore waived this point. See Local 15, Int’l Bhd. of Elec. Workers v. Exelon Corp., 495 F.3d 779, 783 (7th Cir. 2007) (“ ’A party waives any argument that it does not raise before the district court or, if raised in the district court, it fails to develop on appeal.’ ” (quoting Williams v. REP Corp., 302 F.3d 660, 666 (7th Cir. 2002))); see also Heft v. Moore, 351 F.3d 278, 285 (7th Cir. 2003) (“The failure to cite cases in support of an argument waives the issue on appeal . . . .”). This waiver is fatal to Garg’s appeal because our ADA and Rehabilitation Act jurisprudence requires that, in order to establish her prima facie case, Garg must prove that she can perform the essential functions of a fulltime flexible regular mail processor with or without reasonable accommodation. See Scheerer, 443 F.3d at 918; Jackson, 414 F.3d at 810, 813; Hammel, 407 F.3d at 865-66. Here, Garg cannot prove this prong of her prima facie case because she did not perform the essential functions of her job even after the Postal Service made reasonable accommodations to her. The Postal Service accommodated Garg by reassigning her from tour 1 to tour 3 for seven months despite clear Postal Service policies that would ordinarily have precluded such an assignment. During much of this time, Garg worked as a data-entry operator and did not handle mail. The Postal Service then allowed Garg to work a reduced number of hours after she returned to tour 1. Garg never asked the Postal Service for any other accommodations and never introduced any evidence of other positions within the Postal Service that she was qualified to 10 No. 07-2377 fill. Despite these reasonable accommodations, Garg repeatedly missed work without permission, and by doing so failed to perform the essential functions of her job. Garg also entirely ignored several letters from the Postal Service requesting that she undergo and report the results of her allergy testing. Garg knew that she could not return to work without receiving allergy testing, but she did not submit to testing until five months after her termination—one year after the Postal Service initially asked her to do so, and she only relented when she was required to submit to testing for her workers’ compensation claim. After Garg continually avoided allergy testing and the Postal Service’s exhortations, the Postal Service labeled her entire absence as without leave and terminated her employment. Garg’s conduct clearly demonstrates her inability to perform her job. And we have held that “when the evidence demonstrates that an employee is incapable of performing the job, the employer need not isolate the disability-related causes for an employee’s inferior performance from problems that stem from a poor attitude, insubordination, carelessness, or outright disregard for the safety of himself and his co-workers.” Hammel, 407 F.3d at 865; see also Waggoner v. Olin Corp., 169 F.3d 481, 484-85 (7th Cir. 1999). Because Garg did not challenge the district court’s determination that the Postal Service provided her reasonable accommodations, and because the record makes clear that Garg could not perform her job even with these accommodations, she has failed to establish the second required element of her prima facie case under the Rehabilitation Act. See Scheerer, 443 F.3d at 918. We therefore need not evaluate the district court’s conclusion that Garg was No. 07-2377 11 not disabled within the meaning of the Rehabilitation Act. See Springer v. Durflinger, Nos. 06-2168 & 06-2516, slip op. at 8 (7th Cir. Feb. 29, 2008); Smith, 445 F.3d at 1009 n.20 (“[B]ecause we need not resolve this issue to dispose of [the] appeal, we reserve judgment . . . .”).