Employee with essential tremor can proceed with ADA case, federal court rules

A recent decision by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio illustrates the relatively low bar an employee must clear to proceed with a regarded-as-disabled claim.

Facts

Douglas McGonegle worked for Sleep Number, a mattress and sleep accessory store, as an at-will employee (that is, he could be fired at any time for any or no reason). In October 2017, a customer came into the store to shop for a mattress. McGonegle assisted the customer. Ultimately, the customer left without buying anything because he found the price too high.

A few days later, McGonegle called the customer and offered him a discount. The customer returned to the store on a day when McGonegle wasn’t working. He spoke to the store manager, Julie Roborecki, and inquired about the price McGonegle had offered. Roborecki let the customer know the price wasn’t available, and he again left the store empty-handed.

Roborecki noticed the price McGonegle had allegedly quoted to the customer seemed to line up with Sleep Number’s “Friends & Family” discount. The employer let the salespeople know the discount wasn’t supposed to be used for leads or customers. It also informed them that misusing promotion could result in disciplinary action.

The next day, Roborecki confronted McGonegle about the improper discount. The parties dispute how he responded: