In Pena v. Honeywell International, Inc.,
issued on July 22, 2019, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First
Circuit denied a former employee's petition for rehearing
en banc of the court's April 26, 2019, decision
addressing whether her inconsistent statements on her Social
Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits application and
complaint precluded her from bringing a claim pursuant to the
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Specifically, in applying
for SSDI benefits, Pena, the former employee, had consistently
asserted that she was totally disabled as of the last date she
worked at Honeywell. However, in her complaint against Honeywell,
Pena alleged that she was a qualified individual with a disability
and thus able to perform the essential functions of the job, with
or without an accommodation. Because Pena failed to explain these
inconsistencies, the court held that her ADA claims against
Honeywell were precluded by the doctrine of judicial estoppel.
