Opinion ID: 848724
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 8

Heading: the significance of the eeoc interpretive guidelines

Text: The majority describes the statutory framework of the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA), 42 USC 12101 et seq., and the Michigan Persons With Disabilities Civil Rights Act, MCL 37.1101 et seq. It disregards the Interpretive Guidelines promulgated by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). These guidelines are valuable in clarifying that the essential functions of a police officer must be essential in reality, not just on paper: The inquiry into whether a particular function is essential initially focuses on whether the employer actually requires employees in the position to perform the functions that the employer asserts are essential. For example, an employer may state that typing is an essential function of a position. If, in fact, the employer has never required any employee in that particular position to type, this will be evidence that typing is not actually an essential function of the position.