Labor Law -- 2019



BNSF Railway Co. v. EEOC   (U.S. Supreme Court)

ADA definition of disability for preemployment screenings

The NAM filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court urging the court to reject expansion the scope of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) “regarded as” prong of the definition of “disability.” This litigation arises from an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charge after BNSF withdrew a conditional offer of employment because the company lacked enough information to determine whether an applicant suffered from an impairment that could limit his ability to perform the essential functions of the position. If allowed to stand, the decision would impose significant costs and expose employers to uncontrolled liability. A Supreme Court decision in this case would resolve a circuit split between the Ninth Circuit and other circuits that have considered this question. The NAM’s brief argued that 1) under the Ninth Circuit’s reasoning, an employer that requires an employee to undergo an individualized medical examination “for the purposes of determining whether he has an impairment” will be deemed to per se perceive the employee as having such an impairment and “regard” the employee as disabled; 2) other circuits have rejected this logic; and 3) that the Ninth Circuit’s holding improperly imposes the costs of medical examinations on employers. On November 13, 2019, the Court denied certiorari.


Related Documents:
NAM brief  (April 3, 2019)