A disabled employee’s obligation to participate in identifying reasonable accommodations for her condition was recently highlighted in Brown v. Milwaukee Bd. of Sch. Dirs., a case out of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.
Sherlyn Brown, an assistant principal, injured her knee while restraining a student. After undergoing surgery, Ms. Brown returned to work with a permanent restriction from her doctor that she could not be “in the vicinity of potentially unruly students.” James Gordon, the employment specialist for Milwaukee Schools, believed that Ms. Brown could not have any contact with students, as all students are potentially “unruly.” Mr. Gordon repeatedly communicated his belief to Ms. Brown as he tried to accommodate her disability; however, Ms. Brown never disputed the characterization of her restriction.
Because she was unable to perform the essential functions of any available position, Ms. Brown was fired. She then filed a lawsuit under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) claiming that her disability never prevented her from interaction with students and Milwaukee Schools failed to accommodate her disability.
The Seventh Circuit affirmed that no reasonable accommodation was possible. The ADA requires employers to make only reasonable accommodations that will allow a “qualified individual with a disability” to perform their essential job functions. It does not require employers to promote an employee. More importantly, if the employee “does not provide sufficient information to the employer to determine the necessary accommodations, the employer cannot be held liable for failing to accommodate.”
Because Ms. Brown “failed to hold up her end of the interactive process by clarifying the extent of her medical restrictions,” Milwaukee Schools could not be liable for failing to put Ms. Brown in a position it believed would exceed those restrictions. To be better positioned in a failure to accommodate claim, employers should always document their efforts to find reasonable accommodations. For more information, contact an FHKAD attorney at (614) 221-1216.