Employment Law Commentary April 2014

EEOC v. Ford Motor Company: Is Telecommuting A Reasonable Accommodation After All?

By David Zins

Over a year ago, we published an Employment Law Commentary on Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC") v. Ford Motor Company, a federal district court decision in the Eastern District of Michigan, which held that telecommuting would only rarely be a reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA") and, accordingly, granted summary judgment in favor of the employer Ford.1 In a controversial 2-1 decision, the Sixth Circuit recently reversed and, in doing so, suggested that working from home may be a reasonable accommodation more often than previously thought.2 The Sixth Circuit also called into question courts' traditional deference to an employer's business judgment in deciding whether attendance is an essential job function. It remains to be seen whether Ford will petition for a rehearing en banc, and many other circuits continue to