New England Legal Foundation
  • Home
  • About
    • Mission & History
    • Annual Reports
    • Board of Directors
    • State Advisory Councils >
      • Connecticut
      • Maine
      • Massachusetts
      • New Hampshire
      • Rhode Island
      • Vermont
    • Trustees
    • Members
    • Staff
    • Job & Internship Opportunities
  • News & Events
  • Docket
  • Briefs
  • Donate
  • Contact

Ward v. Massachusetts Health Research Institute, Inc.

2/13/2002

 
Urging that Timely Attendance During Work Hours is an Essential Function of Employee’s Job

Massachusetts Health Research Institute (MHRI) terminated Ward, a data entry clerk, because he failed to arrive at work on time. MHRI maintained a "flex-time" schedule whereby employees could start work between 7:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m. and leave after they had worked for seven and one half hours. Ward consistently did not arrive within this two-hour window, and was repeatedly warned that he was expected to arrive on time. Shortly before he was terminated, Ward told human resources that he had arthritis and asked if he could arrive after 9:00 a.m. on days when his condition was bothering him. He was told that he was expected to arrive between 7:00 and 9:00 a.m. He was fired after he failed to do so. Ward claimed that MHRI violated the Americans with Disabilities Act by failing to make a reasonable accommodation for his arthritis. The U.S. District Court in Massachusetts granted MHRI’s motion for summary judgment, holding that "requirements about work hours are not irrational or unreasonable." Ward appealed. On behalf of Associated Industries of Massachusetts, NELF filed an amicus brief in the First Circuit arguing that the District Court properly held that timely attendance was an essential function of Ward’s job which the employer was not required to forego as a reasonable accommodation to his claimed disability. The First Circuit reversed. Although the Court noted that "a regular and reliable schedule may be an essential function of most jobs," it remanded for a fact-intensive inquiry "into the pattern of the attendance problem and the characteristics of the job in question." The Court also declined "to hold that the flexible schedule Ward proposes," an open-ended schedule set by him on a daily basis, "is per se unreasonable." Accordingly, the Court directed MHRI to demonstrate on remand that it would be an undue hardship to afford Ward the schedule he desired.

Comments are closed.

    The Docket

    To obtain a copy of any of NELF's briefs, contact us at info@nelfonline.org.

    Categories

    All
    1st Circuit Court Of Appeals
    2nd Circuit Court Of Appeals
    3rd Circuit Court Of Appeals
    Business Litigation Session
    CT
    CT Superior Court
    CT Supreme Court
    Employer Employee Relationships
    February 2018
    February 2019
    Government Regulation/Administration Of Justice
    MA
    MA Appeals Court
    MA Division Of Administrative Law Appeals
    March 2015
    MA Superior Court
    MA Supreme Judicial Court
    MA US District Court
    ME
    ME Supreme Judicial Court
    NH
    NH Supreme Court
    Property Rights
    RI
    RI Supreme Court
    SCOTUS
    United States Supreme Court
    US Court Of Appeals Federal Circuit
    US District Court ME
    VT
    VT Supreme Court

    RSS Feed

    Archives

    August 2020
    June 2020
    January 2020
    June 2019
    April 2019
    October 2018
    June 2018
    February 2018
    October 2017
    October 2016
    June 2016
    February 2016
    October 2015
    June 2015
    March 2015
    October 2014
    June 2014
    February 2014
    October 2013
    June 2013
    February 2013
    October 2012
    June 2012
    February 2012
    October 2011
    June 2011
    February 2011
    October 2010
    June 2010
    February 2010
    October 2009
    February 2009
    October 2008
    June 2008
    February 2008
    October 2007
    June 2007
    October 2006
    June 2006
    February 2006
    October 2005
    June 2005
    February 2005
    October 2004
    June 2004
    February 2004
    October 2003
    May 2003
    February 2003
    September 2002
    May 2002
    February 2002
    May 2001