Being on time to work may be Essential Function of Position

A city case manager had schizophrenia but was taking medication on a calibrated schedule. The employer had a flex-time policy which allowed employees to arrive at work anytime within a one hour window in the morning. If an employee was late, the supervisor had to approve or disprove the tardiness. The employee often could not get to work within that window of time due to his medication, and for roughly ten years, the employer excused such tardiness and allowed him to arrive later. Subsequently, however, the supervisor ceased approving the late arrivals. The employee repeatedly requested that he be permitted to arrive later so that he would not be disciplined for tardiness, but his supervisor would not allow it. His doctor recommended that his medication schedule not be altered at that time, which made it difficult for him to arrive earlier. The supervisor then recommended disciplinary action against the employee for his long history of tardiness, and at a grievance hearing, the City recommended his termination. The union representative argued that the employee’s mitigating circumstances (the disability) should be considered. The employee then made formal requests for accommodation to arrive at work later, and a higher-level supervisor denied the request without talking to the employee. He was then suspended for 30 days without pay as a sanction for his tardiness. 

The employee brought suit claiming violations of various state and local ordinances as well as the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The district court dismissed all of the employee’s claims on the grounds that arriving to work with some degree of consistency was an essential function of the employee’s position. Since the employee could not arrive at work with that degree of consistency, the court held that the employee was unable to perform the essential functions of his position, with or without reasonable accommodation. The employee appealed. The Second Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with the employee, finding that the district court granted summary judgment on the disability discrimination and failure to accommodate claims without undertaking a complete factual analysis. Essentially, the Court found that there was not a sufficiently fact-specific analysis conducted as to whether a specific arrival time was, in fact, an essential function of the job. There was evidence that the employee could offset time missed due to tardiness with additional hours worked so as to complete the essential functions of his position, so it was questionable why a specific arrival time was so significant.

As the Court expressly stated in this opinion, this case serves as a reminder to employers about the importance of conducting fact specific analyses when addressing reasonable accommodation and disability issues. For more information read McMillan v. City of New York.