Ford Not Required to Grant Employee Telecommuting Request, 6th Circuit Rules

Author: Ashley Shaw, XpertHR Legal Editor

April 17, 2015

A divided full panel of the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Ford Motor Company did not violate the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) when it decided not to allow an employee with irritable bowel syndrome to telecommute four days a week. The court ruled that a predictable and regular presence in the workplace was an essential function of the employee's job.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) filed a lawsuit on behalf of Jane Harris, a former Ford employee. The EEOC alleged that Harris should have been allowed to work at home four days a week, and that, by not allowing her to do so, Ford violated the ADA. The ADA requires that an employer reasonably accommodate an employee with a disability, and the EEOC argued that the employee's irritable bowel syndrome resulted in the employee needing to telecommute up to four days a week. The EEOC also alleged that the employee's termination a few months after initiating a complaint constituted unlawful retaliation.

The court ruled in favor of Ford on both counts in summary judgment. The court ruled that the employee was not a qualified individual with a disability because she could not meet an essential job function: a regular, predictable presence in the workplace. The employee's request to telecommute up to four days a week, on an ad hoc basis, was not a reasonable accommodation request. This is true, the court noted, even if the employer already offers some amount of telecommuting.

The court ruled that the employee's record of poor performance, including her failure to meet the goals of a previous performance improvement plan, justified her termination and invalidated the EEOC's claim that the employee was let go through unlawful retaliation.

The EEOC is reviewing the decision and evaluating any potential future moves.