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ARTICLE · 24 SEPTEMBER 2013

Fifth Circuit Rules That ADA Does Not Require Nexus Between Requested Accommodation And Essential Functions Of Job

Day Pitney LLP
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In a case decided earlier this week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held that, under the Americans with Disabilities Act, a requested accommodation need not facilitate an employee’s ability to perform the essential functions of her job.

United StatesEmployment and HR
Eric Sussman
Eric Sussman
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Originally published on the Employer's Law Blog

In a case decided earlier this week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held that, under the Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA"), a requested accommodation need not facilitate an employee's ability to perform the essential functions of her job.

In Feist v. State of Louisiana, the plaintiff was an attorney with the Louisiana Department of Justice ("LDOJ") who suffered from osteoarthritis of the knee. Feist claimed that her employer had failed to reasonably accommodate her disability because it refused to provide her with a free on-site parking space. The district court granted summary judgment in the employer's favor because the plaintiff had failed to explain how the denial of on-site parking limited her ability to perform the essential functions of her job as a lawyer.

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