When ‘direct threat’ beats disability accommodation: Lessons from the 8th Circuit

Employers are usually familiar with the language of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which allows an employer to decline to provide requested accommodation to an individual with a disability if the accommodation would impose an undue hardship on the operation of the company’s business. For many employers, it’s less common to consider the ADA’s language permitting employers to apply job-related qualification standards that require an employee not to pose a direct threat to the health or safety of other individuals in the workplace.

The U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals (which covers Arkansas, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota) recently produced a thorough discussion of the direct threat defense.

Railroad determines employee’s disability poses direct threat

Ross Christensen worked as a conductor for the Union Pacific Railroad Company for more than 10 years. When the railroad declined to return him to his job following a stroke, he sued. The district court granted summary judgment (dismissal without a trial) in favor of Union Pacific, so he appealed to the 8th Circuit.