Takeaway: Employers should ensure their process for employees to request reasonable accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) involves a true give-and-take interaction between parties.
An employer demonstrated a good-faith effort to accommodate an employee by engaging in a "back-and-forth" process with the employee, the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found in a case involving the denial of the worker's request to tape-record meetings. The employer, United Parcel Service (UPS), said it offered alternatives, such as notetaking, but the employee said it didn't. The lower court's grant of summary judgment for the employer was upheld.
The plaintiff worked at UPS as a division manager. Her position gave her access to certain proprietary and confidential information regarding the company.
At one point in her employment, she found it difficult "to recall the daily conversations the company expected her to memorize," the court said. She met with her supervisor and a human resources manager to discuss her performance and UPS' intention to place her on a "manager-performance-improvement plan." The plaintiff had an anxiety attack following the meeting and later requested medical leave and an accommodation.
The plaintiff e-mailed human resources, requesting an agenda for all meetings she needed to attend as a division manager and permission to tape-record them. A few days later, she went on leave and did not return to work.
In June 2018, the plaintiff met with...
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