Opinion ID: 1439056
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Essential Functions of the Job

Text: Although Daugherty presented sufficient evidence to defeat summary judgment on the issue of whether he was regarded as disabled, he must also present sufficient evidence that he was capable of performing his job as a police captain. This standard must be imposed given that the MHRA definition of disability includes that an MHRA-protected impairment cannot interfere with performing the job, utilizing the place of public accommodation, or occupying the dwelling in question. Section 213.010(4). The MHRA protects employees from disability discrimination for a disability that is unrelated to a person's ability to perform the duties of a particular job or position and that does not substantially interfere with a person's ability to perform the essential functions of the employment at issue. 8 CSR 60-3.060(1)(F). In determining whether a particular function is essential, courts may consider evidence concerning the following factors: (1) the employer's judgment as to which functions are essential; (2) written job descriptions prepared before the employer began advertising or interviewing for the position; (3) the amount of time on the job spent performing the function; (4) the consequences of not requiring the employee to perform the function; and (5) the past or current work experience of employees in similar jobs. See 29 C.F.R. section 1630.2(n)(3); see also Moritz v. Frontier Airlines, Inc., 147 F.3d 784, 787 (8th Cir. 1998). The City's personnel manual defines an essential function to include a required task or assignment actually performed by a specific position that, if removed, would fundamentally change the job. Deputy Chief of Police Major Kozuszek prepared a memorandum detailing the job description for a police captain that was used by the City's doctor who evaluated Daugherty. Major Kozuszek's description cited parts of the City's official position description, which states: GENERAL PURPOSE Performs a variety of routine and complex public safety work in the supervision of the police department. Supervises police patrol, investigation, traffic regulation, and related law enforcement activities. . . . . ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES Supervises police sergeant, police officers and support staff in their assigned duties. . . . . Oversees and assists, as needed in the response to emergency radio calls and investigates accidents, robberies, civil disturbances. . . . Takes appropriate law enforcement action. . . . . [C]onducts follow-up investigations of crimes committed during assigned shift, seeks out and questions victims, witnesses and suspects, develops leads and tips, searches scene of crimes for clues, analyses and evaluates evidence and arrests offenders. . . . . . . . PHYSICAL DEMANDS . . . . While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to stand; sit; talk or hear; and use hands to finger, handle, or operate objects, controls, or tools. . . . occasionally required to stand; walk; reach with hands and arms; climb or balance; stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl; and taste or smell. Major Kozuszek, however, also listed specifications for the position that were not taken from the City's official written job description: The point to be made here is the fact that commanders may find themselves required to participate in the actual physical process of conducting an investigation and affecting an arrest. This process might entail chasing a suspect over fences, running up stairs, climbing over boxes or crawl under equipment stored in warehouses. It may include the ability to overtake and physically wrestle with a suspect at the time of arrest. He might have to jump out of a window or off of a porch, or to climb a ladder and onto a roof while in the process of a foot chase with a suspect. He may be required to carry heavy boxes or pieces of evidence from crime scenes [and] drag a body. . . . He may be required to help push a vehicle. . . . The City argues that Daugherty fails to show that he is entitled to the disability discrimination protections of the MHRA because he was incapable of performing these essential functions of his job. The City asserts that all police officers are required to perform front-line officer duties and its evaluators determined that Daugherty cannot perform these tasks. Daugherty admitted in his deposition that the captain's job might require front-line officer tasks, but he disputes that those tasks are essential functions of the captain's job. He argues that the captain's job descriptions provided to the doctor did not match the job descriptions in place when he was promoted to captain. Major Kozuszek's description was, in part, created concurrent to the time Daugherty was sent for a disability evaluation and added physical requirements, such as suspect chase and capture, that were not a part of the city's official written job description, which was basically supervisory. Daugherty points out that other officers testified that they also viewed the captain's position as supervisory in nature. Daugherty had performed the captain's job since 1999 without being asked to submit to a fitness for duty evaluation. His performance evaluation in April 2002 scored him satisfactory in the Appearance/Fitness category. [12] At Daugherty's termination appeal hearing, Chief O'Connor stated that, prior to the City's doctor's evaluation, there was no documentation or first hand observation that Daugherty was unable to effectuate an arrest or assist at an accident site. Chief O'Connor also admitted that Daugherty had passed all required firearm qualification tests. The City's doctor determined that Daugherty could perform at a heavy work demand level for 4 hours, and Daugherty's experts concluded that he was physically capable of performing his daily captain's duties and limited heavy work load duties. The record reveals that there are genuine issues of material fact as to what were the essential functions of the captain's job. As such, this issue is an inappropriate ground for summary judgment.