The U.S. Department of Justice has taken legal action against the West Memphis School District, alleging violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) after a school employee's request for reasonable accommodation was denied, leading to her resignation. According to reports by WREG and other local news outlets, the lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas centers on the refusal to grant a science curriculum specialist temporary remote work as a reasonable accommodation for her health condition.
The case has been propelled into the spotlight, as it touches upon telework, an accommodation increasingly vital for employees with disabilities. "Telework is an important tool that has increased the ability of many people with disabilities to become or remain employed," Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, said in a statement obtained by FOX13 Memphis. The lawsuit stems from the district's alleged failure, to discuss or propose alternative accommodations when denying the employee's request for remote work.
Details unveiled by Action News 5 reveal that the employee, who possesses a medical condition placing her at an increased risk for COVID-19, repeatedly reached out to her principal requesting permission to work from home in 2020 but did not receive any response. With the district mandating in-person work with only documented COVID-19 illnesses or exposures as exceptions, the specialist was left to weigh her job against her health and ultimately chose to resign.
The Americans with Disabilities Act mandates that employers must offer reasonable accommodations to employees with disabilities, which might include the option to work remotely. However, in this instance, the Justice Department purports the district violated the ADA by outrightly, rejecting the employee’s request for telework. According to the WREG report, the school’s lack of engagement with the employee or consideration of potential alternatives forced her into a precarious position that culminated in her resignation. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's Little Rock Area Office conducted the initial investigation into this matter, now in the hands of the DOJ's Civil Rights Division's Disability Rights Section.
