As 2025 drew to a close, we continued to see employers lose jury trials and face million-dollar verdicts because they ignored the basics of the interactive process requirements under the American with Disabilities Act (ADA). Most often, the fact patterns involve an employee who is underperforming or struggling in performing their job or who refuses or is unable to perform certain job functions. Frustrated that the work is not being handled, these employers rush to terminate the employee’s job, often without following a systematic or logical approach and failing to document the process.
For instance, in one recent case, an employee who was required to drive at night told her supervisor that she felt unsafe working at night and had difficulty driving because she had night blindness, where bright streetlights and traffic lights blinded her, created halos, and made it difficult to see. Her manager dismissed her concerns, noting that she had previously driven at night, and she was subsequently fired. The employee sued and won, convincing the jury that she had a disability under the ADA and that her employer discriminated against her and failed to accommodate her disability.
This is a common fact-pattern. No doubt, handling employee performance issues is tricky, especially when there may be an underlying medical issue that might not be easily apparent. For instance, if the employee says, “I’m struggling,” this might not look like an ADA-triggering comment. However, the courts...
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