Dive Brief:
- A hospital didn’t violate the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) when it rescinded a conditional job offer to a woman with fibromyalgia, a federal appeals court has ruled (Sumler v. University of Colorado Hospital Authority, No. 18-1443 (10th Cir. Dec. 6, 2019)).
- Elena Sumler was offered a job as a sonographer at the University of Colorado Hospital Authority contingent on an inquiry into her medical condition. Sumler explained that she had fibromyalgia and was taking four medications, including oxycodone and fentanyl, but that she could perform the essential functions of the job. While Sumler’s physician said she could function normally and had previously worked as a sonographer without any difficulty, the hospital’s physician came to a different conclusion, deciding that Sumler’s medications would interfere with her "mental acuity." The hospital rescinded the job offer.
- Sumler sued, alleging the assessment wasn't job-related. A district court dismissed her claims and she appealed. The 10th Circuit upheld the lower court's ruling, saying it had no reason to second-guess the hospital; the employers’ decision was "job-related, uniformly enforced and consistent with business necessity."
Dive Insight:
The ADA places restrictions on employer medical exams that vary depending on which stage of the employment process is involved.
Before a job offer is made, the law forbids all disability-related inquiries and medical examinations even if they are related to the job. But, after an employer makes a conditional job offer and before the prospective employee starts work, an employer may make disability-related inquiries and conduct medical examinations as long as it does so for all job applicants in the same category, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission says.
If an individual is screened out because of a disability, the employer must show that the exclusionary criterion is job-related and consistent with business necessity, according to the commission. "Job-related and consistent with business necessity" means that an employer has a reasonable belief, based on objective evidence, that: (1) an employee's ability to perform essential job functions will be impaired by a medical condition; or (2) an employee will pose a "direct threat" because of a medical condition.
