4th Circuit’s Dueling Disability Discrimination Decisions Analyze ‘Illegal-Exam’ Claims Under ADA/Rehabilitation Act
By When can an employer require its employee to undergo a medical exam without running afoul of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) or the Rehabilitation Act? In recent weeks, the Fourth Circuit enriched the case law on illegal-exam claims in two divergent opinions, ruling for the employee in EEOC v. McLeod Health, Inc., — F.3d —-, 2019 WL 385654 (4th Cir. Jan. 31, 2019) and for the employer in Hannah P. v. Coats, — F.3d —-, 2019 WL 664491 (4th Cir. Feb. 19, 2019).
The ADA and the Rehabilitation Act both prohibit covered employers from requiring an employee to undergo a medical exam “unless such examination . . . is shown to be job-related and consistent with business necessity.” 42 U.S.C. § 1112(d)(4)(A). The EEOC’s enforcement guidelines provide that, ordinarily, to meet the “job-related and consistent with business necessity” standard, “the employer must reasonably believe, based on objective evidence, that either (a) the employee’s ability to perform an essential job function is impaired by a medical condition, or (b) the employee can perform all the essential functions of the job, but because of his or her medical condition, doing so will pose a ‘direct threat’ to his or her own safety or the safety of others.” The Fourth Circuit’s recent McLeod and Coats opinions touch on both the “direct threat” and impairment causing a failure to perform the essential functions scenarios, respectively.
