Court Opinion

ID: 9835634
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-09-02 02:33:34.209676+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T12:28:10.511061
License: Public Domain

LOHIER, Circuit Judge,
concurring:
I concur fully in the majority opinion. I write separately to reinforce an important point made by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in its amicus brief: A disabled plaintiff can demonstrate that he was qualified for the position under Title VII or the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (the “ADEA”) by showing that he could perform the job with or without a reasonable accommodation. In other words, he “must show only that he possesse[d] the basic skills necessary for performance of [the] job.” Slattery v. Swiss Reinsurance Am. Corp., 248 F.3d 87, 91-92 (2d Cir. 2001) (quotation marks omitted). If this were not the rule, a disabled worker who performed his job with a reasonable accommodation would be unable to establish a prima facie case of discriminatory discharge under Title VII or the ADEA even if he were discharged based on his race, color, religion, sex, national origin, or age. As the majority opinion implicitly recognizes, Title VII, the ADEA, and the Americans with Disabilities Act together work to foreclose that possibility.