August 8, 2001—In a case set for review this fall (US Airways v. Barnett), the US Supreme Court is being asked to determine whether the rights of employees with disabilities under the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) or the seniority rights of other employees take precedence when making a “reasonable accommodation” under the ADA.
The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), which represents more than 165,000 human resource professionals, filed an amicus brief in July supporting arguments made by US Airways that ignoring other employees’ legitimate rights and aspirations improperly transforms the ADA from an anti-discrimination law into a mandatory preference law never intended by Congress.
In the US Airways case, the Ninth Circuit US Court of Appeals ruled in favor of Robert Barnett, a cargo handler who injured his back on the job and sought a transfer to the company’s mailroom as a “reasonable accommodation” for his resulting disability. US Airways’ position is that accommodating Barnett in this fashion violates other employees’ right to be assigned to the mailroom job based on their length of service with the company.
The Ninth Circuit ruled US Airways would have to disregard its seniority system in this instance, unless the carrier can prove that disrupting the system would cause an “undue hardship” as defined by the ADA statute.
For more information, visit the US Supreme Court Web site, docket number 00-1250.
