Accurate Job Description Foils Disability Bias Claim

​Employers are not required to reallocate or eliminate the essential functions of a job to accommodate a worker's disability, the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals held. Accordingly, employers should have accurate, well-documented and detailed job descriptions to help determine whether an employee with a disability is able to perform the essential functions of the job.

The plaintiff in this case was employed by Douglas County, Neb., as a correctional officer from April 2003 to January 2014. Under the county's job description, a correctional officer was "required to be able to control fights between inmates and to restrain combative inmates through use of necessary force at times."

The job description also listed critical physical requirements. The correctional officer was required to "stand, walk, sit, climb stairs, run, kneel, stoop, crouch and move quickly from kneeling to standing positions."

In August 2012, the plaintiff was injured during a physical altercation with an inmate. She was again injured in September 2012 during an inmate altercation and needed shoulder surgery in October 2012. The plaintiff returned to performing sedentary work in late November and returned to light duty in May 2013.

The plaintiff was removed from light-duty work in July 2013 because she used the maximum allowable number of days of light duty under the terms of the applicable collective bargaining agreement.

Shortly thereafter, the county sent the plaintiff a letter notifying her that her work restrictions prevented her from performing the essential functions of the job and asked her to advise it of any reasonable accommodations that would allow her to perform those duties.

[SHRM members-only toolkit: Accommodating Employees' Disabilities]

During the interactive process, the plaintiff asked to be reassigned to central control or the lobby as she believed those positions would not have potentially dangerous encounters with inmates. Those positions, however, had similar job descriptions as noted above. She also asked to be reassigned to the department of motor vehicles, but no positions were available. The county terminated her employment on Jan. 31, 2014, because she could not physically resume her correctional officer position with or without a reasonable accommodation.

The plaintiff sued the county for disability discrimination and failure to accommodate. The district court dismissed the plaintiff's disability discrimination claim because she was not able to perform the essential functions of her position, and the plaintiff appealed.

The 8th Circuit held that employers are not "required to reallocate or eliminate the essential functions of a job to accommodate a disabled employee." Because of her work restrictions and the job requirements for a correctional officer and for positions with central control and the lobby, the court held that "officers … must still be able to perform the essential physical duties of a correctional officer, including the ability to restrain offenders or stop disturbances with use of force." The 8th Circuit ultimately affirmed the district court's decision.

Faulkner v. Douglas Cty, Neb., 8th Cir., No. 17-1387 (Oct. 12, 2018).

Professional Pointer: Although the 8th Circuit relied on more than a job description in determining whether an employee can perform the essential functions of the job, the job description is a key factor used to determine whether an employee is able to perform the required essential functions. Accordingly, it is very important for companies to have accurate, well-documented and detailed job descriptions.

Brent D. Kettelkamp is an attorney with Seaton, Peters & Revnew, P.A., the Worklaw® Network member firm in Minneapolis.

[Visit SHRM's Americans with Disabilities Act resource page.]