“Wilson Air is not the type of intransigent employer that the ADA was designed to set straight,” said the appeals court.
An accounting assistant who was diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer and began working at home during the COVID-19 pandemic, ultimately fired after she failed to return to the office on an agreed hybrid schedule and repeatedly missed work without notice, was not a “qualified individual” under the ADA, the Fourth Circuit affirmed. Over nearly three months, aviation services provider Wilson Air Center, LLC, reiterated that it wanted her to come into the office, but only as her schedule permitted. It took precautions to limit the spread of disease and excused many of her failures to communicate. The accounting assistant, however, showed up to the office for two partial days during the three-month period, often failing to warn any of her coworkers when she would be working from home or not working altogether, the appeals court found (Haggins v. Wilson Air Center, LLC, No. 24-1010 (4th Cir. Jan. 14, 2026)).
Accounting assistant. The plaintiff, according to the court, worked at Wilson Air for more than 16 years. An “Accounts Payable (Accounting Assistant),” her role was “[e]nsur[ing] correct payment to vendor[s] and assist[ing] [the] Account Manager” daily.
Paper checks. Many of Wilson Air’s payments took the form of paper checks, and vendors often sent their invoices via mail. Wilson Air also retained physical records about every supplier. For...
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