Takeaway: A hospital supervisor with MS could not go forward with his failure-to-accommodate claim when the hospital approved permission for him to work from home on a case-by-case basis when his MS flared.

A hospital supervisor who had multiple sclerosis (MS) and asked to be allowed to telecommute whenever his MS flared could not proceed with his failure-to-accommodate claim under the federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Missouri Human Rights Act (MHRA), a federal appeals court ruled. For a failure-to-accommodate claim to move forward to trial, an employee must show that the employer failed to engage in the interactive process in good faith. The employee in this case failed to make such a showing, the court said.

The employee worked in customer service for a hospital and in 2016 was promoted to patient access supervisor. He was responsible for training and managing a team of approximately 20 employees to assist patients over the phone in verifying insurance coverage and determining out-of-pocket health care costs. Most of the employee's direct reports telecommuted full time.

The hospital's policy allowed managers to telecommute one day a week, and, as of 2018, two days per week. The employee's manager allowed her direct reports additional teleworking days on a case-by-case basis.

In 2016, the employee was diagnosed with MS. As his disease progressed, he began to have difficulty walking, standing and breathing, and experienced fatigue and burning...

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