Failure-to-Accommodate Claim Proceeds to Trial Under ADA

​Takeaway: Employers must ensure that employees with disabilities have access to information that is provided to other similarly situated employees without disabilities, regardless of whether they need it to perform their jobs.

​The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals determined a deaf employee could proceed to trial under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) over an employer’s failure to provide text message summaries of safety meetings and an interpreter at a disciplinary hearing as accommodations.

The plaintiff, who is deaf, was hired at O’Reilly Auto Parts as a materials handler. Before their work began each night, the team members participated in a brief mandatory meeting to discuss the tasks for the shift, go over any concerns and provide safety information. Because he was deaf, the plaintiff could not understand what was being said in those meetings or participate in them. The plaintiff asked his supervisor to start sending him text messages summarizing the nightly meetings, and his supervisor agreed. However, the supervisor repeatedly failed to carry through with the texts.

During his tenure at O’Reilly, the plaintiff received disciplinary warnings for being absent or tardy. O’Reilly issued the plaintiff a documented verbal warning for missing work from July 5 to July 14.

At his orientation the prior April, the plaintiff had requested the first four days off for a planned family trip and understood that it had been approved. The second part of that July…