Where a plaintiff teacher was terminated following hip surgery, a grant of summary judgment in favor of the defendant employer should be affirmed because the plaintiff has not demonstrated that a reasonable accommodation would allow her to perform the essential functions of her job.
“At the beginning of the 2019-2020 school year, Nancy Der Sarkisian, then sixty-nine years old and a ninth-grade English teacher at Austin Preparatory School (‘Austin Prep’), began what she had told Austin Prep would be a four-week leave of absence for hip surgery. When Der Sarkisian experienced complications that required further surgery — and which her doctor anticipated would leave her incapacitated for an additional three months — Austin Prep extended her leave of absence. Der Sarkisian then experienced even more complications that required even more surgery. When Der Sarkisian’s doctor told the school that she would be unable to work with or without accommodations for an additional three to six months, Austin Prep terminated her employment and offered her the opportunity to reapply when she was cleared to work.
“Instead, Der Sarkisian brought claims for disability discrimination in violation of Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act (‘ADA’) and Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 151B (Count I) and for age discrimination in violation of Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 151B (Count II). The U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts granted summary judgment for Austin Prep on both counts. Der...
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