Opinion ID: 197991
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Criado's disability

Text: 15 IBM contends that the court should have granted its motion for judgment as a matter of law because Criado's impairment is not a disability as defined by the ADA. The ADA defines disability as:(A) a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of the major life activities of such individual; 16 (B) a record of such an impairment; or 17 (C) being regarded as having such an impairment. 18 42 U.S.C. § 12102(2). EEOC guidelines identify several factors to assist in determining whether a particular disability is of such severity that it comes within the protection intended by ADA. These factors include: 19 (i) The nature and severity of the impairment; 20 (ii) The duration or expected duration of the impairment; and 21 (iii) The permanent or long term impact, or the expected permanent or long term impact of or resulting from the impairment. 22 29 C.F.R. § 1630.2(j)(2). IBM views Criado's adjustment disorder as a temporary mental condition that could not qualify as a disability under the ADA. Examining the evidence under the standard required for review of a Rule 50 motion, we hold that Criado presented evidence that could have allowed a rational jury to determine that her disability was not temporary. She had been seeing her physician for seven years and had often had periods of depression, though the particular episode is the only one that required absence from work. Furthermore, she had been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), a permanent disability, and her physician testified that the ADD compounded her depression and anxiety disorders. 23 IBM points to evidence from Criado's physician that her condition was temporary and that she would completely recover after a short leave from work. But the jury could have found that Criado and her physician only intended that the accommodation she requested was temporary, not the disability itself. 24 Criado also presented evidence that allowed the jury to find that her mental disorders had substantially impaired the major life activity of working. This court has recognized that in some circumstances depression can constitute a disability under the ADA. See Ralph v. Lucent Techs., 135 F.3d 166, 168 (1st Cir.1998) (assuming that plaintiff's depression constituted a disability under the ADA for the purpose of determining whether he had a probability of success on the merits of his claim and thus deserved injunctive relief); E.E.O.C. v. Amego, Inc., 110 F.3d 135, 141 (1st Cir.1997) (assuming for summary judgment purposes that plaintiff's depression and post-traumatic stress disorder rendered him a disabled person within the meaning of the ADA). But see Soileau v. Guilford of Maine, Inc., 105 F.3d 12, 15 (1st Cir.1997) (finding no disability because the plaintiff's episodic depression did not substantially limit any major life activity). 25 IBM questions whether Criado had a permanent disability, because prior to May and June of 1994 none of her major life activities was substantially impaired by her bouts with depression. Furthermore, her physician predicted she would be fully able to perform her job after she returned from her requested leave. But by the time Criado requested the leave of absence she had become unable to perform some of the functions of her job. She was having trouble dealing with stress and relating to both co-workers and clients. Depression and anxiety were causing sleep deprivation which affected her timeliness and ability to report to work. This evidence showed that her mental impairments had substantially limited her ability to work, sleep, and relate to others. Overall, there was evidence indicating that she was unable to adequately perform her job as she had in the past. That her depression had been adequately treated through therapy in the past and was expected to be adequately treated through therapy and medication in the future does not establish that she does not have a disability. See Arnold v. United Parcel Serv., Inc., 136 F.3d 854, 859 (1st Cir.1998) (Both the explicit language and the illustrative examples included in the ADA's legislative history make it abundantly clear that Congress intended the analysis of an 'impairment' and of the question whether it 'substantially limits a major life activity' to be made on the basis of the underlying (physical or mental) condition, without considering the ameliorative effects of medication, prostheses, or other mitigating measures.) (citing H.R.Rep. No. 101-485, pt. III, at 28 (1989), reprinted in 1990 U.S.C.C.A.N. 445, 451; H.R.Rep. No. 101-485, pt. II, at 52 (1990), reprinted in 1990 U.S.C.C.A.N. 303, 334; S.Rep. No. 101-116, at 23 (1989)); Krocka v. Bransfield, 969 F.Supp. 1073, 1085 (N.D.Ill.1997) (summary judgment for employer not warranted where plaintiff's ability to function generally and to interact with others--and therefore to work--were substantially limited before he was treated for depression with Prozac and therapy). 26 Proving the elements of a mental disability will not be as easy or as clear cut as cases of physical disability. But, though mental impairments create special problems under the ADA, Congress chose to recognize these as disabilities under the Act. Cf. Arnold, 136 F.3d at 861 (Conceptually, it seems more consistent with Congress's broad remedial goals in enacting the ADA, and it also makes more sense, to interpret the words individual with a disability broadly, so the Act's coverage protects more types of people against discrimination.). 27 The evidence of Criado's disability was sufficient.