The U.S. Supreme Court won’t take an appeal from Weld County after the Colorado federal appeals court narrowly ruled the jurisdiction on a workplace discrimination case last year.
Monday’s High Court ruling puts Laurie Exby-Stolley on trial over her allegation that Weld County violated the Americans with Disabilities Act by neglecting her as the county health inspector. In a rare hearing of all judges on the U.S. 10th District Court of Appeals, a 7-6 ruling found a court wrong in instructing the jury that Weld County should take adverse action against Exby-Stolley How z her or demote her so that she has an ADA claim.
The majority of the appellate court found that the term “prejudicial employment measure” does not appear in the landmark law on the rights of persons with disabilities.
“The whole concept of requiring an adverse employment measure to be successful in any kind of discrimination” [claim] was never endorsed by SCOTUS and many circles are now deciding that this is not a workable or correct doctrine, “said Jason Wesoky, an attorney at Darling Milligan who represents Exby-Stolley.
In its petition to the Supreme Court, Weld County argued that appeals courts across the country are tightly divided as to whether an employer who just ignores a person’s disability will make a claim or whether there needs to be more.
The law requires employers to provide reasonable accommodation for a disabled worker so that they can enjoy the same benefits as a non-disabled worker. Discrimination that affects an employee’s “conditions and privileges of employment” is prohibited. That phrase is “shorthand,” the county said for an adverse employment measure.
“Talking about questions related to how to help a person with a disability succeed in their chosen career should be part of an ongoing employer-employee conversation that begins as soon as such a discussion is obviously necessary. ” said David Monroe, director of legal services for Disability Law Colorado. “Waiting for an employer to decide on an adverse measure such as dismissing or demoting an employee is not in the wording or spirit of the ADA.”
The majority of the 10th county sided with Exby-Stolley, ruling that if the county’s interpretation took precedence, the ADA’s protections would be watered down.
We also cannot accept the suggestion that the ADA – which by its simple wording affirmatively imposes an obligation on employers to provide adequate accommodation – should be interpreted in a way that does not allow the law to effectively ensure that all qualified disabled workers In fact, such accommodation will be given, but only those disabled workers who have also suffered a labor disadvantage, “wrote Judge Jerome A. Holmes in the court’s opinion on October 28.
A district spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Wesoky said his client tried unsuccessfully to resolve the Weld County case.
“If Laurie prevails, citizens would have the right to hold their leaders responsible for paying citizens hundreds of thousands, if not more than a million dollars, in fees and damages,” he said.
Exby-Stolley was the county health inspector but broke her right arm while working in 2009. It took her longer to complete the inspections and had to use medical assistive devices due to her injury. How much the county accommodated her disability was controversial, and whether it would force her to quit, but a jury ruled that she had not proven she had experienced an adverse employment lawsuit as directed by the judge.
The 10th district ordered a new trial without any instructions from the judge.
Jesse Fishman of HKM Employment Attorneys in Denver said she believes the 10th
“It was great that the 10th Circuit raised this issue as it is important for both employers and employees to have a clear understanding of workers ‘rights – this helps employers understand how to run their business without workers’ rights to hurt, ”said Fishman.
The case is Exby-Stolley v Board of County Commissioners.
Comments are closed.