Cite as: 535 U. S. 391 (2002)
Scalia, J., dissenting
to which the low-performing employee might be suited. The ADA, however, prohibits an employer from firing a person whose disability is the cause of his poor performance without first seeking to place him in a vacant job where the disability will not affect performance. Such reassignment is an accommodation to the disability because it removes an obstacle (the inability to perform the functions of the assigned job) arising solely from the disability. Cf. Bruff v. North Mississippi Health Services, Inc., 244 F. 3d 495, 502 (CA5 2001). See also 3 BNA EEOC Compliance Manual, supra, at N:2478 ("[A]n employer who does not normally transfer employees would still have to reassign an employee with a disability").
The phrase "reassignment to a vacant position" appears in a subsection describing a variety of potential "reasonable accommodation[s]":
"(A) making existing facilities used by employees readily accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities; and
"(B) job restructuring, part-time or modified work schedules, reassignment to a vacant position, acquisition or modification of equipment or devices, appropriate adjustment or modifications of examinations, training materials or policies, the provision of qualified readers or interpreters, and other similar accommodations for individuals with disabilities." § 12111(9) (emphasis added).
Subsection (A) clearly addresses features of the workplace that burden the disabled because of their disabilities. Subsection (B) is broader in scope but equally targeted at disability-related obstacles. Thus it encompasses "modified work schedules" (which may accommodate inability to work for protracted periods), "modification of equipment and devices," and "provision of qualified readers or interpreters."
415
Page: Index Previous 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 NextLast modified: October 4, 2007