Keystone cop cadet can't convince court of improper bias

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) generally prohibits employers from making disability-related inquiries or tests of its employees and job applicants, unless they are job-related and consistent with business necessity. A recent decision from the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals (whose rulings apply to all Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin employers) shows this general bar doesn't stand in the way of a police department's inquiries about a candidate's use of a handicapped parking placard.

Walk the walk

Brad Sandefur has been employed by the Cook County sheriff since 1990, and since 1996 he has served as a corrections officer. Since 1995, he has suffered from disk desiccation in his back and osteoarthritis in his knees. Both conditions cause him intermittent pain that lasts for weeks at a time. During flare-ups, he experiences limited mobility and severe pain.

In 2011, Sandefur applied for and received a handicapped parking placard from the Illinois secretary of state based on his osteoarthritis. The application for the placard, completed by Sandefur and his doctor, Stephen Behnke, stated he couldn't walk "without assistance or another person, prosthetic device, wheelchair, or other assistive device" and that he was "severely limited in [his] ability to walk" because of his conditions.

Placard police

In 2015, Sandefur applied and was accepted into the Sheriff's Police Academy, which offered a path for him to move from corrections officer to a job as police officer within the department. As part of the training, recruits must pass a physical fitness test with four components: