Ohio Court of Appeals Reverses Directed Verdict on Perceived Disability

Late last month – just a few days after the Franklin County Court of Appeals rejected a perceived disability claim – the Ohio Court for Harrison County reversed an employer’s directed verdict on a perceived disability claim and found a reasonable jury could conclude that the employer’s perception might have motivated the employee’s termination, but rejected the employee’s argument that the employer’s offered reasonable accommodation could – by itself -- constitute evidence that it perceived him as disabled.  Roghelia v. Hopedale Mining, L.L.C., 2014-Ohio-2935.  The Court found that the trial court improperly elevated the plaintiff’s burden of proof in a perceived disability case by requiring him to show that the employer perceived his impairment – an amputated thumb -- to be substantially limiting of a major life activity.  Moreover, an email sent by a manager about “be[ing] careful”  with “his background injury wise” created a question of fact as to whether the employer was motivated by the impairment or was trying to conscientiously follow the law in terminating the employee for poor attendance.  Finally, the Court concluded that the jury was entitled to decide whether the attendance issue was a pretext for unlawful discrimination.

According to the Court’s opinion, the employee was terminated for poor attendance even though he had submitted a medical excuse prior to taking the time off.  He did not, however, call in to speak with his supervisor before taking off work and his supervisor had decided to assign him to light duty after receiving the medical statement.  He had prior attendance problems.  Once, he submitted a medical statement, which gave no medical reason for his absence, and got married during his two week absence.  He had been placed on probation for poor attendance before his termination. 

Under the Ohio Revised Code and the current ADAA, “a plaintiff must show that the employer regarded her as having a mental or physical impairment, but without regard to whether the employer regarded her as substantially limited in her daily life activities as a result.” 

Shortly after the plaintiff lost his thumb, the employer transferred the employee to a position which would not cause as much pain in his injured hand.  Nonetheless, it believed that he could perform all of his job duties.  The Court noted that Ohio Courts have refused to consider reasonable accommodations as evidence of a perceived disability.   

To find otherwise would mean that any time any sort of work place accommodation is made for the employee this automatically results in a conclusion that is perceived as disabled for purposes of disability discrimination. Therefore, merely showing that an employee was accommodated is not sufficient to prove that the employer regarded the employee as disabled.

NOTICE: This summary is designed merely to inform and alert you of recent legal developments. It does not constitute legal advice and does not apply to any particular situation because different facts could lead to different results. Information here can change or be amended without notice. Readers should not act upon this information without legal advice. If you have any questions about anything you have read, you should consult with or retain an employment attorney.