Opinion ID: 774703
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Promotion to Assistant Manager with a Reasonable Accommodation

Text: 33 Under the ADA, the term discriminate includes not making reasonable accommodations to the known physical or mental limitations of an otherwise qualified individual with a disability who is an applicant or employee.... 42 U.S.C. § 12112(b)(5)(A). The district court addressed only briefly the issue of reasonable accommodation as it relates to the plaintiff's assistant manager promotion claim before resolving the issue adversely to her as a matter of law. In so doing, it relied on the fact that her desire to become an assistant manager at S-44 was based on personal convenience, not her disability, and that NOCO accommodated her disability by promoting her to assistant manager at a store with armored car service in May 1994. The district court thereby misinterpreted and misapplied the requirements of reasonable accommodation under the ADA and failed to consider the facts in the light most favorable to the plaintiff. 34 1. The plaintiff's prima facie case. For a plaintiff who can perform a desired position with a reasonable accommodation to establish a prima facie case of discrimination because of disability, she must show (1) that [s]he is an individual who has a disability within the meaning of the [ADA], (2) that an employer covered by the statute had notice of h[er] disability, (3) that with reasonable accommodation, [s]he could perform the essential functions of the position sought, and (4) that the employer has refused to make such accommodations. Stone v. City of Mt. Vernon, 118 F.3d 92, 96-97 (2d Cir. 1997) (citation omitted). We conclude that the plaintiff has come forward with sufficient evidence to meet her burden of establishing a prima facie case of discrimination foreclosing the granting of a motion for summary judgment against her on this aspect of her assistant manager promotion claim. 35 First, a person must be an individual with a disability in order to receive the protections provided by the ADA. A disability is a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of the major life activities of [the] individual. 42 U.S.C. § 12102(2)(a). NOCO does not dispute that the plaintiff suffers from epilepsy or that epilepsy constitutes a disability under the ADA, a proposition that is well established. See, e.g., 29 C.F.R. 1615.103(1)(ii) (including epilepsy in the definition of physical or mental impairment); Sutton v. United Air Lines, Inc., 527 U.S. 471, 488 (1999) (using epilepsy as an example of a condition that is included in the definition); LaChance v. Duffy's Draft House, Inc., 146 F.3d 832 (11th Cir. 1998) (holding that epilepsy qualifies as a disability under the ADA); Martinson v. Kinney Shoe Corp., 104 F.3d 683 (4th Cir. 1997) (same). 36 Second, NOCO does not dispute that it is covered by the ADA. 37 Third, there is ample evidence from which a jury could reasonably conclude that NOCO had notice of the plaintiff's disability. Although there is some debate about when NOCO received such notice, there is evidence, which we must credit at this stage of the proceedings, from which a jury could conclude that NOCO learned about the plaintiff's disability in December 1992. There is in any event no doubt that when, in January 1994, NOCO declined to consider her for a promotion because of her inability to drive, it was fully aware of her condition. The plaintiff also referred to her condition and its relationship to her inability to drive in some detail in her letter to NOCO of January 20, 1994. Cf. Higgins v. New Balance Athletic Shoe, Inc., 194 F.3d 252, 265 (1st Cir. 1999) (finding that the plaintiff met prima facie case by stating in his affidavit in substance, that he had a hearing impairment, that [the defendant] knew of it, and that management nonetheless failed to accommodate him.). 38 Fourth, a reasonable jury could find that with reasonable accommodation the plaintiff could perform the essential functions of the job she sought. The ADA defines reasonable accommodation as including but not limited to job restructuring, part-time or modified work schedules, [and] reassignment to a vacant position.... 42 U.S.C. § 12111(9)(B). ADA regulations further state that an employer is required to make [m]odifications or adjustments to the work environment, or to the manner or circumstances under which the position held or desired is customarily performed, that enable a qualified individual with a disability to perform the essential functions of that position. 29 C.F.R. § 1630.2(o)(1)(ii). 39 NOCO does not contend that driving is an essential function of the position of assistant manager. Rather, the evidence presented by NOCO suggests, and the record on appeal discloses no reason to doubt NOCO's contention that, depositing store receipts in a safe and timely manner is an essential function of an assistant manager's job, see 29 C.F.R. § 1630.2(n) (explaining method of determination as to whether a function is essential); see also Stone, 118 F.3d at 97 (discussing 29 C.F.R. § 1630.2(n)). The plaintiff does not argue otherwise. The question, then, is whether, as a matter of law, the plaintiff was incapable of performing that function with a reasonable accommodation. 40 NOCO neither asserts nor presents evidence to support an argument that the only way to satisfy the need for an assistant manager to deposit cash in the bank is for the assistant manager to drive herself to the bank. The plaintiff suggested several plausible accommodation[s] to enable her to be promoted at S-44, including having the manager of a nearby store drive her or hiring a car service or a driver at her own expense. The proposed accommodations are not, facially, an undue hardship, 42 U.S.C. § 12112(b)(5)(A), which in any event is an affirmative defense, and would allow the plaintiff to accomplish the task of depositing the store's receipts in the bank. 5 We therefore conclude that a rational jury could find that the plaintiff was able to perform the essential functions of the assistant manager position at S-44 with a reasonable accommodation. 41 Further, we hold that a jury could reasonably find that NOCO did not reasonably accommodate the plaintiff's disability. NOCO asserts that by giving the plaintiff an assistant manager's job at an armored car store, it provided the plaintiff with a reasonable accommodation and that it therefore fulfilled its obligations under the ADA. The district court thought so too. It held that the plaintiff was not entitled to an accommodation to enable her to work specifically at S-44, a position that she sought because the store was located in close proximity to her home, not because it accommodated her disability. Lovejoy-Wilson v. NOCO Motor Fuel, Inc., No. 97-CV-72C(M), slip op. at 11 (W.D.N.Y. July 5, 2000). 42 We disagree that offering the desired position at an armored car store was, as a matter of law, a reasonable accommodation. By requiring reasonable accommodation, Congress intended simply that disabled persons have the same opportunities available to them as are available to nondisabled persons. Wernick v. Fed. Reserve Bank, 91 F.3d 379, 384 (2d Cir. 1996). In that pursuit, the ADA defines a qualified individual with a disability as a person who, with or without reasonable accommodation, can perform the essential functions of the employment position that such individual holds or desires. 42 U.S.C. § 12111(8) (emphasis added); see also Jackan v. New York State Dep't of Labor, 205 F.3d 562, 565-66 (2d Cir. 2000) (quoting § 12111(8) and emphasizing the words or desires). And it is discriminatory and a violation of the ADA to fail to mak[e] reasonable accommodations to the known physical... limitations of an otherwise qualified individual with a disability who is an applicant for an employment position. 43 The ADA does not specify whether position means only the level of job desired or the level of job desired at a particular location (and perhaps also on a particular shift). We think the answer depends on what the evidence in each case shows as to the job opportunities for those without disabilities, since a person with a disability must have an opportunity equal to theirs. If an employer offers its workforce an opportunity for promotion to a higher level of employment without honoring any requests for a particular location (or shift), then an ADA plaintiff cannot complain of assignment to a less favorable location. But if the employer permits its workers to apply for promotion at a preferred location (or shift), then a disabled person must have the same opportunity. In this case, the evidence thus far developed indicates that NOCO employees could apply for promotion at a particular store. A contrary conclusion could not be reached as a matter of law on this record. If employees could apply for promotion to assistant manager at stores of their choice, the plaintiff had the right to seek the assistant manager job at the store she desired -- S-44 -- free from discrimination. 44 In making the determination whether NOCO failed to accommodate the plaintiff's disability, the reason for her desire for that particular job -- personal convenience or otherwise -- does not matter. She was entitled to a reasonable accommodation, if one was available, to permit her to compete with nondisabled applicants on an equal basis to become assistant manager at the store of her choice. A rational jury could find on the basis of the evidence adduced that such a reasonable accommodation was available but not offered to her. 45 Finally, there is more than enough evidence to support a jury finding that NOCO flatly refused to afford the plaintiff the reasonable accommodation to which she was entitled. The January 5, 1994 letter from NOCO's director of personnel, its president's letter of January 26, 1994, and evidence of the plaintiff's subsequent efforts to become assistant manager at S-44, recited above, would suffice. And NOCO's offer of a position at S-40 obviously does not constitute an accommodation of the plaintiff's disability that would enable her to obtain the position she wanted at S-44. 46 We also note that [t]he ADA envisions an 'interactive process' by which employers and employees work together to assess whether an employee's disability can be reasonably accommodated. Jackan, 205 F.3d at 566 (citing Beck v. Univ. of Wis. Bd. of Regents, 75 F.3d 1130, 1135 (7th Cir. 1996); 29 C.F.R. § 1630.2(o)(3)). NOCO provides no evidence that it took any steps toward engaging in an interactive process, such as meet[ing] with the employee who requests an accommodation, request[ing] information about the condition and what limitations the employee has, ask[ing] the employee what he or she specifically wants, show[ing] some sign of having considered [the] employee's request, and offer[ing] and discuss[ing] available alternatives when the request is too burdensome. Taylor v. Phoenixville Sch. Dist., 174 F.3d 142, 162 (3d Cir. 1999). NOCO's president's response to the plaintiff's request for an accommodation, that NOCO will not be entertaining further communication on this matter, was the antithesis of participation in an interactive process. Because we find sufficient evidence of an outright refusal to accommodate to preclude summary judgment on this claim, however, we need not decide whether the refusal of NOCO to enter into an interactive process alone would foreclose summary judgment. See Cravens v. Blue Cross and Blue Shield, 214 F.3d 1011, 1021 (8th Cir. 2000) (citing Fjellestad v. Pizza Hut of America, Inc., 188 F.3d 944, 952 (8th Cir. 1999)). 47 In like vein, the plaintiff, and the EEOC as amicus curiae, urge us to hold, as have other circuit courts of appeals, that the defendant had not only a duty reasonably to accommodate the plaintiff's disability, but an independent duty to institute and engage in an interactive process with the plaintiff to attempt to find a reasonable accommodation the breach of which is itself a violation of the ADA. See Barnett v. U.S. Air, Inc., 228 F.3d 1105, 1111-17 (9th Cir. 2000) (in banc) (collecting cases); id. at 1117 (holding that in light of the defendant's failure to engage in the interactive process, liability would be appropriate if a reasonable accommodation would otherwise have been possible). The plaintiff did not raise this argument in the district court, and the court therefore did not consider it. We therefore decline to consider it on appeal. Inasmuch as we reverse in any event the grant of the defendant's motion for summary judgment on the claim of failure to promote with a reasonable accommodation, there is no possible injustice, let alone manifest injustice, to justify our departure from the general rule... that a federal appellate court does not consider an issue not passed upon below. Singleton v. Wulff, 428 U.S. 106, 120 (1976); Diesel v. Town of Lewisboro, 232 F.3d 92, 108 (2d Cir. 2000) (quoting Singleton; other citations omitted). 48 2. NOCO's affirmative defenses. NOCO asserts two affirmative defenses. First, it posits that the plaintiff is not a qualified individual because she poses a direct threat to the health or safety of other individuals in the workplace. 42 U.S.C. § 12113(b); see also Nunes v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 164 F.3d 1243, 1247 (9th Cir. 1999). The district court rejected this defense, but the defendant urges us to accept it on appeal. 6 The ADA defines direct threat as a significant risk to the health or safety of others that cannot be eliminated by reasonable accommodation. 42 U.S.C. § 12111(3). Expanding on the direct threat language, the EEOC has stated that it means a significant risk of substantial harm to the health or safety of the individual or others that cannot be eliminated or reduced by reasonable accommodation. 29 C.F.R. § 1630.2(r). The EEOC guidelines further provide that: 49 An employer... is not permitted to deny an employment opportunity to an individual with a disability merely because of a slightly increased risk. The risk can only be considered when it poses a significant risk, i.e. high probability, of substantial harm; a speculative or remote risk is insufficient. 50 Hamlin v. Charter Township of Flint, 165 F.3d 426, 432 (6th Cir. 1999) (quoting 29 C.F.R. § 1630.2(r)). The legislative history of the ADA also supports the premise that [t]he plaintiff is not required to prove that he or she poses no risk. H.R. Rep. No. 101-485, pt. 3, at 46 (1990), reprinted in 1990 U.S.C.C.A.N. 445, 469. 51 To protect disabled individuals from discrimination based on prejudice, stereotypes, or unfounded fear, School Bd. of Nassau County v. Arline, 480 U.S. 273, 287 (1987), an individualized assessment of the [employee's] present ability to safely perform the essential functions of the job based on medical or other objective evidence is required, Albertson's, Inc. v. Kirkingburg, 527 U.S. 555, 569 (1999) (citing 29 C.F.R. § 1630.2(r) and Bragdon v. Abbott, 524 U.S. 624, 649 (1998) (citing Arline, 480 U.S. at 288)). To determine whether an individual poses a direct threat, we must consider factors including: (1) the duration of the risk; (2) the nature and severity of the potential harm; (3) the likelihood that potential harm will occur; and (4) the imminence of potential harm. Emerson v. N. States Power Co., 256 F.3d 506, 513-14 (7th Cir. 2001) (citing Borgialli v. Thunder Basin Coal Co., 235 F.3d 1284, 1291 (10th Cir. 2000)). 52 NOCO has failed to provide any evidence that the plaintiff poses a significant risk of substantial harm. The plaintiff's seizures usually last a few minutes or less. The only injury she sustained during her employment with the company was the minor one to her elbow in April 1994. NOCO has not identified any time at which she failed to perform her duties or caused harm to others because of her affliction or otherwise. Until this litigation, NOCO had never exhibited a concern about her ability to perform her job as a sales clerk or as an assistant manager because of such a risk. 53 The plaintiff's neurologist also concluded that she did not pose a threat to herself or others and that the NOCO job was appropriate for her. The physician NOCO asked to review the plaintiff's conditionsuggested only that the plaintiff be examined by a qualified neurologist for medical evaluation[] and treatment and that she not perform job duties [that] involve[] work at heights above ground level, operate heavy machinery or work in isolated areas where she would be alone for significant periods of time. He said nothing to indicate that she posed a significant risk of harm to herself or others in performing her duties. We decline to affirm the district court's grant of judgment for the defendant on the grounds that the plaintiff was not a qualified individual with a disability. 54 Second, NOCO asserts, as an alternative defense, undue hardship. To establish this defense, NOCO must show (a) that making a reasonable accommodation would cause it hardship, and (b) that the hardship would be undue. Stone, 118 F.3d at 97; see also 42 U.S.C. § 12112(b)(5)(A). NOCO has not made a showing that would permit the district court to decide in its favor on this issue as a matter of law. 55 The ADA defines undue hardship as an action requiring significant difficulty or expense, when considered in light of the factors set forth in subparagraph (B). 42 U.S.C. § 12111(10)(A). The factors in subparagraph (B) include the cost of the accommodation, the overall financial resources of the employer, and the type of operation of the employer. See id. § 12111 (10)(B). We have recognized that undue hardship is a relational term; as such, it looks not merely to the costs that the employer is asked to assume, but also the benefits to others that will result. Stone, 118 F.3d at 98 (internal quotation marks omitted). NOCO has provided no evidence that the accommodations suggested by the plaintiff would create an undue hardship. Indeed, in light of the plaintiff's suggestion that she pay for her own transportation to the bank, it would seem an uphill battle for NOCO to establish that an accommodation would necessarily create any hardship at all. 56 Because the plaintiff has come forward with sufficient evidence to establish a prima facie case of failure to promote to assistant manager with a reasonable accommodation and because NOCO has failed to establish as a matter of law that the reasonable accommodations suggested by the plaintiff would cause it undue hardship, the district court erred in granting summary judgment to NOCO on this aspect of her claim. 57