Opinion ID: 815098
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Individualized Inquiry

Text: As a threshold matter, “[t]he ADA mandates an individualized inquiry in determining whether an [applicant’s] disability or other condition disqualifies him from a particular position.” Holiday, 206 F.3d at 643. A proper evaluation involves consideration of the applicant’s personal characteristics, his actual medical condition, and the effect, if any, the condition may have on his ability to perform the job in question. Id. This follows from the ADA’s underlying objective: “people with disabilities ought to be judged on the basis of their abilities; they should not be judged nor discriminated against based on unfounded fear, prejudice, ignorance, or mythologies; people ought to be judged on the relevant medical evidence and the abilities they have.” Id. (internal quotations omitted). The ADA requires employers to act, not based on stereotypes and generalizations about a disability, but based on the actual disability and the effect that disability has on the particular individual’s ability to perform the job. Id. The district court properly determined that Dr. Work failed to make an individualized inquiry. After Dr. Work entered the examination room and briefly reviewed Keith’s file, he declared, “He’s deaf; he can’t be a lifeguard.” Dr. Work made no effort to determine whether, despite his deafness, Keith could nonetheless perform No. 11-2276 Keith v. Cnty. of Oakland Page 9 the essential functions of the position, either with or without reasonable accommodation. Indeed, Dr. Work has no education, training, or experience in assessing the ability of deaf individuals to work as lifeguards. Dr. Work’s cursory medical examination is precisely the type that the ADA was designed to prohibit. See, e.g., Holiday, 206 F.3d at 644 (reasoning that questions of fact remained regarding whether the physician disqualified the plaintiff from being a police officer based on his HIV status rather than investigating whether having HIV actually impeded his ability to withstand the rigors of police work). In addition, although not addressed by the district court, we question whether Ellis, through its representatives, made an individualized inquiry regarding Keith’s ability to perform the job. Ellis’s representatives never spoke with Dr. Work, they never met Keith, and they never allowed Keith an opportunity to demonstrate his abilities. Although knowledgeable in aquatic safety, they have no education, training, or experience regarding the ability of deaf individuals to work as lifeguards. Indeed, the representatives testified that they could not provide an opinion regarding Keith’s ability to perform the essential functions of the position without seeing him in the actual work environment with the proposed accommodations in place. It is also concerning that, when corresponding with Stavale about ways to incorporate Keith into the lifeguard team, an Ellis representative asked whether Keith would be able to perform perfectly “100 percent of the time.” As Stavale acknowledged, that is an impossible standard to expect of any lifeguard. Individuals with disabilities cannot be held to a higher standard of performance than non-disabled individuals. See 42 U.S.C. § 12112(b)(3)(A) (prohibiting employers from “utilizing standards, criteria, or methods of administration . . . that have the effect of discrimination on the basis of disability”). Nonetheless, the district court concluded that Oakland County, the ultimate decision-maker, made an individualized inquiry. We do not disagree with this conclusion. Keith’s abilities were observed during lifeguard training, accommodations were proposed to integrate Keith into the lifeguard team, and both staff and management were on board with the plan to hire Keith. That being the case, we question what No. 11-2276 Keith v. Cnty. of Oakland Page 10 changed? Did Oakland County alter its assessment based on Dr. Work’s report and the advice of Ellis’s representatives? If so, did Oakland County’s individualized inquiry satisfy the ADA’s mandate? Because it strikes us as incongruent with the underlying objective of the ADA for an employer to make an individualized inquiry only to defer to the opinions and advice of those who have not, we direct the district court to consider these questions on remand. See Holiday, 206 F.3d at 645 (reasoning that employers cannot escape liability under the ADA merely by mechanically relying on the medical opinions and advice of third parties).