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Topical ADA Archive

Light Duty

• Hammer v. Bd. Of Ed., Arlington Heights, (DC NIll), 8 AD Cases 963, 1/21/1997
  
  Summary: Fact that employer does not have obligation to create light-duty position for disabled employee if none is available does not mean that it does not have a duty to attempt reasonable accommodation, since accommodation under ADA means that employer must be willing to consider making changes in its ordinary work rules, terms, and conditions to enable disabled individuals to work.
  
  
• Hendricks-Robinson v. Excel Corp., (DC CIll), 8 AD Cases 643, 8/4/1997
  
  Summary: Employer's policy of removing disabled employees from light-duty jobs that they could perform, once they were determined to be permanently restricted, did not violate ADA, despite contention that such positions were reasonable accommodation, since light-duty jobs were temporary. The light- duty jobs were set aside to facilitate employees' recoveries from injuries by allowing them to remain employed rather than placing them on medical layoff to recover at home. If the employer were forced to provide light-duty positions on a permanent basis to permanently restricted employees, at some point future temporarily restricted employees would no longer have the opportunity to work in temporary, light-duty positions while they recuperated but would be forced into medical layoff until they were ready to return to heavy-duty work.
  
  
• Sidaris v. Runyon, (DC MAla), 8 AD Cases 1165, 2/27/1997
  
  Summary: U.S. Postal Service, which in past had assigned mail carrier to light duty during summer months so that she would not be delivering mail when temperature exceeded 80 degrees, is not required to continue this assignment or to convert it to permanent light-duty assignment.