Employee without disability recovers backpay under ADA

In the brilliant 1993 movie The Fugitive, there’s an iconic scene in which the wrongly accused Dr. Richard Kimble emphatically tells Deputy U.S. Marshal Samuel Gerard, “I didn’t kill my wife!” Gerard responds, “I don’t care!” In a recent case, the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals addressed a disability discrimination claim under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The employer emphatically argued the employee wasn’t entitled to backpay damages because he never even alleged he had an actual or perceived disability. In finding in favor of the employee, the 7th Circuit essentially responded, “I don’t care!” Let’s discuss.

Employee sues after refusing medical fitness-for-duty exam

John Nawara was a correctional officer for the Cook County Sheriff’s Office. (Side note: The Fugitive also takes place in Cook County.) After a series of “heated altercations” with superior officers, the sheriff’s office ordered him to undergo a medical “fitness-for-duty” exam. He refused, and his employer placed him on a lengthy leave of absence, most of which was unpaid.

Nawara filed suit alleging the sheriff’s office violated an ADA provision prohibiting employers from requiring employees submit to a medical exam unless it “is shown to be job-related and consistent with a business necessity.” Notably, he never alleged he had a disability or that the sheriff’s office perceived him as having disability.

At trial, the jury found the sheriff’s office violated the prohibition against medical exams, but it didn’t award Nawara any backpay damages.