The Third Circuit Court of Appeals rules that the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) allows an employee to bring suit against her employer after the employer refused to accommodate her request for a shift change due to her partial blindness. Colwell v. Rite Aid Corporation (3rd. Cir., No. 3-07-cv-00502, April 8, 2010.)
Jeanette Colwell began work as a part-time night cashier at a Rite Aid pharmacy in 2005. Shortly after starting work, Ms. Colwell began to lose the vision in her left eye due to a retinal vein occlusion and glaucoma. She eventually became blind in that eye and her doctor advised her to avoid driving at night because it was too dangerous. Ms. Colwell brought her supervisor a note from her doctor explaining the problem and requested a schedule to allow her to work during the day, instead of at night, so that she would always be driving to and from work during the day. Despite repeated pleas, the supervisor refused to change Ms. Colwell's shift, and she eventually resigned from her position and filed a lawsuit alleging, among other claims, that Rite Aid failed to accommodate her disability as required by the ADA.
Rite Aid responded by filing a motion for summary judgment, claiming that it was not responsible for easing Ms. Colwell's commute to work. The trial court granted Rite Aid's motion, finding that the ADA mandates that an employer accommodate only an employee's disability at work and that the Act has no application to an employee who has difficulties getting to work. Ms. Colwell appealed.
The Third Circuit Court of Appeals reverses, finding that in certain circumstances the ADA does apply to shift changes designed to accommodate a person's special needs. The court says that "changing Colwell's working schedule to day shifts in order to alleviate her disability-related difficulties in getting to work is a type of accommodation that the ADA contemplates. The statute expressly so provides." The court remands the case to the district court for further proceedings on Ms. Colwell's ADA complaint.