Delta Agent Agitated by 5-day Work Week Can't get Accommodation Claim off Ground

Minneapolis, MN (WorkersCompensation.com) -- An employer isn’t required to provide a job accommodation under the ADA that defeats the purpose of the position. If an employee can’t fulfill the essential functions of the job, even with a reasonable accommodation, he’s not a qualified individual with a disability. 

In May v. Delta Airlines, No. 21-710 ADM/ECW (D. Minnesota 07/20/22), a  seasonal ready ramp agent for Delta suffered from bipolar disorder. Working full-time made him agitated and irritable, he said. His doctor agreed that the agent needed a four-day vacation from work to remain stable. 

He asked Delta for a work schedule of three 8-hour days as a reasonable accommodation and provided his doctor’s note recommending that schedule. The airline denied him the shortened week during its busy seasons, because doing so would have left it short-handed. 

The agent sued the district for denying him a reasonable accommodation in violation of the ADA. 

The court explained that an employee making an accommodation claim must show he has a disability and that he has suffered adverse employment action. Then he must make a facial showing that he is a qualified individual. To qualify, the employee must be able to perform the essential functions of the position. 

Relevant factors concerning whether something is an essential function, the court explained, include: 1) the employer's judgment as to which functions are essential; 2) written job descriptions prepared before advertising or interviewing applicants for the job; 3) the amount of time spent on the job performing the function; 4) the consequences of not requiring the worker to perform the function; and 5) the current work experience of employees in similar jobs. 

Qualified Individual with Disability 

Working full-time was an essential function of the agent’s position, which required loading and unloading of customers’ baggage onto planes, the court held. It pointed out that full-time schedules were necessary to meet customer demand during the airline’s two busiest seasons—summer and winter holidays. The airline also had a policy that agents must be available to work up to 40 hours per week during peak seasons. The consequences of allowing an agent to work part time, the court added, would be too few staff to meet customers’ needs. 

“Because working full-time was an essential function of the Seasonal Ready Ramp Reserve Agent position, [the worker’s] medical restriction of working three 8-hour days per week disqualified him from performing this position,” the court wrote. 

Further, the ADA does not require an employer to create a new part-time position where none previously existed, the court explained. Hence, Delta was not obligated to create a part-time version of the position to accommodate the worker’s inability to perform the essential functions of the job.  

Adverse Employment Action 

The court also held that the agent failed to show he suffered an adverse employment action. It pointed out that Delta responded to his accommodation request by providing him with temporary unpaid leave, followed by moving him to a position that permitted him to work a three-day-per-week schedule. The airline was entitled to do so, the court stated; when an accommodation is not possible in an employee's current position, reassignment to a vacant position may be a reasonable accommodation. 

The court also pointed out that after the summer season, the airline repeatedly offered the agent the schedule he sought. While the worker preferred other shifts, an employer, the court observed, only has to provide an accommodation that is reasonable, not the one the employee prefers. 

Because the agent failed to show he was a qualified individual or that he suffered an adverse employment action, the court granted the airline summary judgment on the agent’s failure-to-accommodate claim. 

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