In a recent decision, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals highlighted the requirement that employees requesting an accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) must engage in the interactive process with their employers. The court in Tarquinio v. Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab affirmed that the employer acted reasonably in requesting medical documentation and that the employee’s refusal to provide this information justified the denial of her accommodation request and her ultimate discharge.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab required all employees to be vaccinated or obtain an exemption, in order to comply with then-applicable federal contractor mandates. A systems engineer requested a medical exemption from the COVID-19 vaccination requirement. According to the court, in support of her request, she submitted a 2012 blood test and a form signed by her healthcare provider, citing “chronic Lyme Disease [and] Lyme-induced immune dysregulation.” It was not clear, however, why the employee’s condition prevented her from getting the vaccine. The employer requested updated medical documentation and permission to communicate with her doctors to verify her condition and understand why the COVID-19 vaccine was contraindicated for her. Despite multiple requests from the employer, the employee refused to provide current medical documentation or allow the employer to contact her doctors. Instead, she...
As a doctor and practice owner, I urge caution in expanding Pennsylvania’s False Claims Act. One reason I left the traditional insurance model was the constant threat of chargebacks and retroactive...