Skip to main content

Telecommuting is NOT a Reasonable Accommodation, According to Another Court


Doak v. Johnson - District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals


Facts:  Edna Doak ("Doak") worked as an analyst in the Office of Acquisition Resources Management at the United States Coast Guard.  Doak suffered from several debilitating conditions that caused her to miss a significant amount of work, with little to no predictable pattern.  After she exhausted her FMLA leave, Doak requested various accommodations including a late start time of 11 AM (everyone else started between 6 AM and 8 AM) and telecommuting.  Doak's late start time and telecommuting requests were denied on the grounds that Doak's position required her to interact frequently with various co-workers.  The requested accommodations were found to not allow her to perform those job functions. Doak was subsequently terminated from her position due to her ongoing inability to work a regular schedule

Doak brought suit against the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security and the Coast Guard on the grounds that she was discriminated against in violation of the Rehabilitation Act because she had allegedly been unlawfully denied her accommodations and terminated in retaliation for requesting those accommodations.  The district court granted summary judgment in favor of the defendants.

Holding:  The District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the lower court's ruling in favor of the defendants and held that Doak's proposed accommodations would not enable her to perform the essential functions of her job.  Doak's job requirements required she be present during regular work hours and was thus an essential function of the job.  When confronted with this issue, the Court noted that Doak failed to present any evidence to the contrary.

Judgment:  The District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the district court's granting of summary judgment in favor of the defendants and found that Doak could not prevail on her Rehabilitation Act claim since the evidence showed her requested accommodations, a late start and telecommuting, would not allow her to perform the essential job functions of her specific position.

The Takeaway:  This is yet another court which has held that telecommuting is not a reasonable accommodation in certain situations.  Earlier this year, the Sixth Circuit in EEOC v. Ford Motor Co. reached a similar conclusion:  When an employee's job responsibilities include a requirement that they be present in the office, a request to be allowed to telecommute is often not a reasonable accommodation.

Majority Opinion Judge:  Judge Millett

Date:  August 18, 2015

Opinion:  http://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-dc-circuit/1711036.html

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

NLRB: Discussion Among Employees About Tip Pooling is Protected Concerted Activity

  This Advice Memorandum from the National Labor Relations Board’s Associate General Counsel, Jayme Sophir, addressed whether employees which discussed and complained about tip pooling at work constituted protected concerted activity. In relevant part, an employer in New York operated a chain of steakhouses.  While tip pooling was in place at these steakhouses, some of the employees objected to it on the grounds that it was not transparent and improperly divided tips among the workers.  Employees were told not to complain or talk to each other about the tip pool and were told that doing so would endanger their jobs.  Despite the employer later attempting to provide some clarity as to how the tips were being divided, rancor still existed among some employees.  At one point, the employees were told by a general manager that some employees that had been talking about the tip pool were “cleared out” and the employer would continue to do so. In the Advice Memorandum,...
Post a Comment
Read more

Breaking: Labor Secretary Rumored to Be Leaving Administration

A few hours ago, word leaked out that Labor Secretary Marty Walsh (“Walsh”) is in the midst of negotiations to head up the NHL Players Union and leave his position at the Labor Department. Walsh, who has served as the sole Labor Secretary under President Biden, has taken part in a labor renaissance of sorts as support for organized labor has increased during his term as Labor Secretary (although the number of workers that have joined a union over the past two years has not grown as mush as some expected.)  He has also overseen the ongoing negotiations with rail workers over a new contract, although that matter is still on shaky ground and playing out as we speak. As for who might step into the vacant Labor Secretary role, there are already rumblings that President Biden should nominate Deputy Labor Secretary Julie Su (a strong labor advocate) or even a progressive like Senator Bernie Sanders.  Until Walsh officially gives his notice, however, I would expect some/many potential...
Post a Comment
Read more

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie Vetoes Minimum Wage Hike

A few months ago, readers might remember that I pointed out that the New Jersey Legislature had voted to approve a minimum wage hike in the state .  Under the approved legislation, the minimum wage rate would rise to $10.10/hour in the next year and at least $15/hour over the next five.  (The current minimum wage rate in the state is $8.38/hour).  In that article, I had noted that the bill was then going to go before Governor Chris Christie for his approval or veto. As I had suggested previously, I thought that the Governor would likely veto the bill based upon his prior actions and comments on similar legislation.  Well, a few days ago, Governor Christie did just that and vetoed the bill on the grounds that it "would trigger an escalation of wages that will make doing business in New Jersey unfathomable."  Pointing to the increase in hourly minimum wage rates, the Governor referred to the bill as a "really radical increase."  (It is interesting to c...
Post a Comment
Read more