The 11th U.S.
Circuit Court of Appeals declared that John Harrison, who has taken barbiturates
to control his epilepsy since he was two years old, should be allowed to pursue
his suit against Benchmark Electronics Huntsville, Inc. (BEHI).
Harrison charged that the
employer’s handling of his application for a full-time position violated the
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). He contended BEHI did not hire him for a full-time position - and eventually caused him to be fired from a temp agency - because of a perceived disability. His epilepsy was not
considered a disability under federal law.
Circuit Judge Eugene
E. Siler, Jr., writing for the appellate court, said the 11th
Circuit had decided to join a number of other federal appellate courts around
the country by formally recognizing the right of a person who is not legally
disabled to nevertheless pursue an ADA suit under 42 U.S.C. 12112(d)(2) with
allegations they did not get hired because of a perceived disability.
Siler pointed out that
the ADA section involved in Harrison’s case bars employers from requiring a
medical exam or pose questions to an applicant about
whether the person is disabled (or the extent of the disability)
before extending a job offer
. The employer is only permitted to ask whether
the applicant can “perform job-related functions,” Siler continued.
After deciding
Harrison should be allowed to continue pursuing the ADA suit, Siler threw out a
lower court’s decision that had dismissed the case at BEHI’s request.
According to Siler’s
ruling, a drug test administered while Harrison was being considered for a full-time
job detected the barbiturates he was taking under a doctor’s prescription.
Harrison was summoned to a meeting where he was questioned about his
prescription by a company representative while the hiring manager was in the
room.
Even though a company
medical officer eventually accepted the drug test results, the
hiring manager did not extend the full-time job offer to Harrison and, in fact,
asked Harrison’s temporary employment agency not to send him back to BEHI. The employment agency eventually fired
Harrison.
BEHI has contended it
did not hire Harrison because he had threatened the hiring manager and because
of concerns over his performance.
The 11th Circuit ruling is available here.