Working remotely was not a reasonable accommodation (pre-Covid) under the ADA

This case acquaints us with how reasonable accommodations work under the Americans with Disabilities Act, which requires employers to accommodate disabled employees provided the accommodation does not dispense with an essential job function. The question here is, What is an essential job function? Plaintiff said his proposed accommodation still allowed him to perform all of his work, but the Court of Appeals says that's not true, and summary judgment for the employer is affirmed. 

The case is Frantti v. State of New York, a summary order issued on March 9. As the Court of Appeals (Cabranes, Raggi and Kaplan [D.J.]), "Not all accommodations are reasonable. . . . [A]n accommodation is not reasonable if it, in essence, requires an employer to eliminate an essential function of a job. Although the term ‘essential functions’ is not defined by the ADA, regulations promulgated by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission . . . indicate that it encompasses ‘the fundamental job duties of the employment position. In approaching this inquiry, a court must give considerable deference to an employer’s judgment regarding what functions are essential for service in a particular position.” 

With those principles out of the way, plaintiff loses. He says he can work from home to accommodate his disability, or take on an alternate work schedule. But that will not cut it, the Court says, because the record shows that "Frantti’s job required him to perform involved analysis on complex, collaborative projects that unfolded over long periods of time. He also needed to be “in the office and available on a consistent basis, for assignments” and to communicate with co-workers and other parties."

What's critical is that plaintiff's employer, the Division of Criminal Justice Services, could not technically accommodate remote work." At least not at the time. The Court of Appeals notes this is now a quaint management deficiency now that we're living through "this extraordinary era of pandemic-necessitated remote work." Ain't that the truth. The Court of Appeals has not heard cases in person since last spring, hearing oral arguments now over the phone and Zoom. But what matters is what management was able to do for plaintiff at the time, and at the time, working remotely was not feasible. 

For years, employment specialists have wondered if telecommuting might constitute a reasonable accommodation under the ADA. Many courts have not accepted that principle on the theory that, sometimes, your presence in the office is required to interact face to face with coworkers. I wonder if that will change in the age of Covid-19, where most employers found a way to get by through remote employment. My guess is that, once we're all vaccinated and the US reaches herd immunity, the next round of telecommuting cases will find courts ruling for the plaintiffs on this issue.

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