Texas federal appeals court: Be anxious about ADA anxiety claims

A very recent case from the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals (the federal appeals court over Texas) explains how a seemingly common condition in a stressed-out world is deserving of Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) protection.

Lawyer sues under ADA

Jamilah Way was a lawyer for the city of Missouri City, Texas, from August 2018 until her termination in January 2021. She sued for two separate violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA): failure to reasonably accommodate her disability and retaliation for seeking such an accommodation.

Let’s take accommodation first. There are three questions that must be asked.

Questions for accommodation

Question No. 1: Is her anxiety a covered ADA disability? Recall that the ADA defines a disability as a physical or mental impairment that limits a major life activity such as caring for oneself, sleeping, and thinking. Here, there was evidence that, in August 2019, Way told her boss—the city attorney—that her anxiety caused her heart to beat more quickly; to physically tremble; to be short of breath; and for her thoughts to race. All of this made it a lot more difficult to perform activities most of us take for granted, such as falling asleep and eating. So now onto Question No. 2.

Question No. 2: Did the city know of her disability and the limitations flowing from it? Emails played a role in the answer.