Opinion ID: 187208
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Regarded as Having a Disability

Text: An individual is regarded as disabled if her employer mistakenly believes that [the] person has a physical impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities or mistakenly believes that an actual, nonlimiting impairment substantially limits one or more major life activities. Sutton, 527 U.S. at 489, 119 S.Ct. 2139. Although many circuits have recognized working as a major life activity, see, e.g., Bartlett v. N.Y. State Bd. of Law Exam'rs, 226 F.3d 69, 80 (2d Cir. 2000); EEOC v. R.J. Gallagher Co., 181 F.3d 645, 654 (5th Cir.1999), both the Supreme Court and this court have scrupulously avoided deciding whether working constitutes a major life activity for purposes of the Act. See Sutton, 527 U.S. at 492, 119 S.Ct. 2139; Gasser v. District of Columbia, 442 F.3d 758, 763 n. 7 (D.C.Cir. 2006) (noting the difficulties the issue presents (internal quotation marks omitted)). Instead, for purposes of analysis, we have assumed without deciding that working qualifies. See Duncan v. WMATA, 240 F.3d 1110, 1114 n. 1 (D.C.Cir.2001) (en banc). Doing the same here, we reject Adams's claim. [T]o be regarded as substantially limited in the major life activity of working, one must be regarded as precluded from more than a particular job. Murphy v. United Parcel Serv., Inc., 527 U.S. 516, 523, 119 S.Ct. 2133, 144 L.Ed.2d 484 (1999). Adams must therefore present enough evidence to persuade a reasonable jury that the State Department viewed her as precluded from more than one type of job, a specialized job, or a particular job of choice. Sutton, 527 U.S. at 492, 119 S.Ct. 2139. She failed to carry this burden. Nothing in the record reveals that the State Department believed Adams was unable to hold any position other than that of Foreign Service officerand even then, the Department thought her unable to serve only at certain hardship posts overseas. Adams argues that by denying her a Class 1 medical clearance the State Department revealed that it regarded her as unable to hold a host of other government jobs requiring similar clearances, but such an interpretation would mean that every Foreign Service candidate denied a Class 1 medical clearance would be disabled under the Rehabilitation Act. See Thompson v. Rice, 422 F.Supp.2d 158, 175-76 (D.D.C.2006). We decline to adopt such a broad reading of the statute.