Opinion ID: 848724
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Overview of the PWDCRA

Text: In Chmielewski v. Xermac, Inc., 457 Mich. 593, 601, 580 N.W.2d 817 (1998), quoting Allen v. Southeastern Michigan Transportation Auth., 132 Mich.App. 533, 537-538, 349 N.W.2d 204 (1984), we stated that the Handicappers' Civil Rights Act (amended in 1998 and renamed the Persons With Disabilities Civil Rights Act) `prohibits discrimination against individuals because of their handicapped status. The purpose of the act is to mandate `the employment of the handicapped to the fullest extent reasonably possible.' Under MCL 37.1202(1)(a)-(e), which prohibit employment discrimination, an employer [7] shall refrain from taking any of a number of adverse employment actions against an individual because of a disability ... that is unrelated [or not directly related] to the individual's ability to perform the duties or a particular job or position. The plaintiff bears the burden of proving a violation of the PWDCRA. To prove a discrimination claim under the [PWDCRA], the plaintiff must show (1) that he is [disabled] as defined in the act, (2) that the [disability] is unrelated to his ability to perform his job duties, and (3) that he has been discriminated against in one of the ways delineated in the statute. Chmielewski, supra at 602, 580 N.W.2d 817. A disability, for purposes of article 2, MCL 37.1201-37.1214, is defined in MCL 37.1103(d) as: (i) [a] determinable physical or mental characteristic of an individual... if the characteristic: (A) ... substantially limits 1 or more of the major life activities of that individual and is unrelated to the individual's ability to perform the duties of a particular job or position ...; (ii) [a] history of [such a] determinable physical or mental characteristic ...; or (iii) [b]eing regarded as having [such a] determinable physical or mental characteristic.... `Unrelated to the individual's ability' means, with or without accommodation, an individual's disability does not prevent the individual from ... performing the duties of a particular job or position. MCL 37.1103( l )(i). Thus, like the ADA, the PWDCRA generally protects only against discrimination based on physical or mental disabilities that substantially limit a major life activity of the disabled individual, but that, with or without accommodation, do not prevent the disabled individual from performing the duties of a particular job. See Sanchez v. Lagoudakis (After Remand), 458 Mich. 704, 715, 581 N.W.2d 257 (1998). Once the plaintiff has proved that he is a qualified person with a disability protected by the PWDCRA, he must next demonstrate that he has been discriminated against in one of the ways set forth in MCL 37.1202. Like the ADA, the PWDCRA prohibits employers from taking any of a variety of measures that adversely affect protected individuals. [8] If the plaintiff presents a prima facie case of purposeful discrimination, the burden then shifts to the defendant to rebut such evidence. Kerns v. Dura Mechanical Components, Inc. (On Remand), 242 Mich.App. 1, 12, 618 N.W.2d 56 (2000). See also Hazle v. Ford Motor Co., 464 Mich. 456, 463-466, 628 N.W.2d 515 (2001).