COURT GRANTS SKYWEST’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGEMENT IN EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION AND RETALIATION LAWSUIT
February 28, 2024
The United States District Court for the District of North Dakota (the “Court”) issued an opinion granting summary judgement for Defendant SkyWest Airlines (“SkyWest”) in an employment disability discrimination and retaliation case. The action stems from a lawsuit filed by a hearing-impaired former employee alleging that SkyWest violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) and the North Dakota Human Rights Act (“NDHRA”) when the airline terminated him as a part-time ramp agent. Even assuming the hearing-impaired employee constituted a “qualified individual” within the meaning of the ADA, the Court reasoned that summary judgement was appropriate based on SkyWest’s direct threat defense. Importantly, the Court highlighted evidence showing that the hearing-impaired employee was unable to consistently communicate with others on the noisy tarmac. Since the hearing-impaired employee could not safely perform his ramp agent duties due to his disability, the Court determined that SkyWest’s direct threat defense was justified.
The Court also acknowledged that SkyWest did reasonably accommodate the hearing-impaired employee by offering him a comparable position as a gate agent. While the employee declined the position as a gate agent, doing so does not change the fact that the gate agent position had the same location, hours, and pay as the ramp agent position. In other words, SkyWest offered a reasonable accommodation, making summary judgement appropriate. Being that it had a legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason to terminate the hearing-impaired employee based on the direct threat he posed to the safety of himself and others, the Court granted SkyWest’s motion for summary judgement.
If you have any questions, please contact Evelyn Sahr at 202.659.6622 or esahr@eckertseamans.com; Drew Derco at 202-659-6665 or dderco@eckertseamans.com; Jay Julien at 202.659.6648 or jjulien@eckertseamans.com, or any other attorney at Eckert Seamans with whom you have been working.
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