Question

7. Missy has a substantial stutter that she has had since she was a small girl. It is the result of a disease she had as a child and it will be with her the rest of her life. Her coworkers tease her mercilessly at work because of her stutter. Bravely, she ignores them and does an excellent job of filling orders. It doesn’t interfere with her doing her job because she “tunes it out” but it does upset her greatly. She goes home at night and cries because they just won’t stop. The last time she reported them to the manager, she got transferred to the back room because her manager thought she’d “do better away from them.” Missy hates working in the back room and doesn’t know why she should have to when she herself hasn’t done anything wrong. Does Missy have an ADA claim?

         a. Yes; hostile work environment harassment and retaliation

         b. Yes; disability harassment and constructive discharge

         c. Yes; disability disparate impact and harassment

         d. Yes; disability disparate treatment for failure to accommodate

         e. No, she doesn’t

8. See the facts about Missy in the previous question. Missy gets a new supervisor who is not very comfortable with Missy because of her stutter. The supervisor transfers Missy to Head Packer in the packing department and calls it a “promotion” because it has a higher level of pay. Scott, the previous Head Packer, used to keep track of orders by yelling out to each packer, then recording their responses on a white board. Obviously, Missy doesn’t want to do this. Does Missy have to do the job the exact same way that Scott did it to be performing the “essential functions” of the job?

         a. Yes

         b. No

9. When we look at the “essential functions of the job” in terms of the ADA, what provides evidence as to whether something is an “essential function” of the job?

         a. The job analysis done by HR

         b. The job description and specification crafted when the job was posted

         c. The way the job is regularly performed by others who hold that job

         d. Facts about the employer’s work operations and work force (large, small, etc.)

         e. All of the above are helpful evidence in determining the “essential functions” of the job

10. AMPCO has two employees who have used the words “accommodate” with regards to their job duties but neither one of them has mentioned any particular disability. To claim the protections of the ADA and request a reasonable accommodation, must an employee disclose that he/she has a disability under the ADA?

         a. Yes; if he/she doesn’t disclose, the employer can’t be expected to read his or her mind and “know” there is a disability

         b. Maybe – if the “reasonable” employer would have known that the employee had a disability (i.e., if it is visible or otherwise obvious), the employer will be held to have known even if the employee didn’t disclose

         c. No; the existence of a disability is a private condition the employee need not disclose in order to demand a reasonable accommodation under the ADA

Answer 1

Answer 7 : D. Yes; disability disparate impact and harassment

Explanation : In this case, Missy is facing harassment from her coworkers while employer does not accomodate her on current job and has shifted her to the back room work.

Answer 8 : B. No

Explanation : As Missy has disability while working as she suffers from stutter, hence in current role instead of yelling at workers she can record the response on whiteboard.

Answer 9 : B. The job description and specification crafted when the job was posted.

Explanation : Job description determines the necessary functions and activities that an employee is expected to perform while working.

Answer 10 :  B. Maybe – if the “reasonable” employer would have known that the employee had a disability (i.e., if it is visible or otherwise obvious), the employer will be held to have known even if the employee didn’t disclose.

Explanation : In some cases when the disability is visible employer needs to accommodate it even if employees did not disclose it.