Wrongful Termination, ADA, and the Courts

Lawrence S. Kleiman
David W. Denton

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DOI: 10.2190/0HEL-FPNE-CK1F-CCHD

Abstract

This article reviewed case law dealing with wrongful termination claims filed under Title 1 of the ADA to help employers better understand how the courts adjudicate these types of cases. The article is organized around the three defenses available to employers when faced with an ADA charge: 1) the employee does not belong to the protected class (i.e., is not legally disabled) and thus is not protected by the ADA; 2) the employee is not otherwise qualified; that is, the termination was justified because the employee could no longer perform the essential functions of the job, even with a reasonable accommodation; and 3) the employee was terminated for a legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason, one that was unrelated to his/her disability. The discussion section addresses areas of potential concern for organizations in light of the judicial decisions reviewed and offers some recommendations for avoiding/defending wrongful termination suits under the ADA.

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.