Takeaway: During the interactive process, an employer must consider potential reasonable accommodations beyond what the employee proposes in order to fulfill its obligation to provide the employee with a reasonable accommodation.
Notwithstanding an error in the jury instruction defining "qualified," the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals recently found a plaintiff suffered no prejudice to her discrimination and failure-to-accommodate claims under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and therefore refused to order a new trial.
The plaintiff worked as an optical manager at Costco in Indianapolis. The plaintiff has disabilities, including fibromyalgia, spinal stenosis, herniated disks, and bone spurs, that made it hard for her to bend, walk and stand.
In 2015, Costco remodeled the optical department, building computer monitors directly into the counters to protect customers' confidential health information. This change made it more difficult for the plaintiff to continue working as an optical manager. The arrangement would have required the plaintiff to stand much longer than she could tolerate.
The parties discussed accommodations, but Costco determined that no accommodations would allow the plaintiff to continue as an optical manager. Consequently, Costco placed the plaintiff on involuntary leave and later assigned her to a different job paying less money.
The plaintiff sued under the ADA for disability discrimination and retaliation. A jury ruled against her, finding...
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