The court reversed the district court's grant of summary judgment in favor of UPS. Notably the court held that summary judgment is not appropriate where "there is a disputed issue of fact" concerning the effectiveness of modifications made by the employer" where the "employer was aware or should have been aware that" the modifications made were not effective(pg. 17).
Under the ADA employers must make "reasonable accommodations" to qualified individuals unless the employer can show that such accommodations would impose an undue hardship. The court carefully outlined what makes a reasonable accommodation:
EEOC regulations define the term reasonable accommodation:
“[m]odifications or adjustments that enable a covered entity’s employee with a disability to enjoy equal benefits and privileges of employment as are enjoyed
by its other similarly situated employees without disabilities.” 29 C.F.R. § 1630.2(o)(1)(iii).
“An ineffective ‘modification’or ‘adjustment’ will not accommodate a disabled individual’s limitations.” Barnett, 535 U.S. at 400. Ineffective modifications
therefore are not accommodations. Cf. Humphrey v. Mem’l Hosps. Ass’n, 239 F.3d 1128, 1137 (9th Cir. 2001)(“An appropriate reasonable accommodation must be effective,
in enabling the employee to perform the duties of the position.” (internal quotation marks omitted)).
“The reasonablenessof an accommodation is ordinarily a question of
fact.” Lujan v. Pac. Mar. Ass’n, 165 F.3d 738, 743 (9th Cir.
1999)."
The court's summary judgment analysis circumscribes a new limit in the circuit on the application of summary judgment in ADA cases. A limit that may creep into other areas of employment discrimination.
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