Tip Tuesday! Another example of how not engaging in ADA process can get you in hot water

by Tim Gould

What to do when it appears a person’s injury may prevent him or her from doing their job:

Take your time, and engage in the ADA’s interactive process.

Otherwise, you could end up like Jacobs Field Services, a construction company, which is staring down the barrel of an expensive ADA jury trial.

It offered Michael Cannon a field engineer job, but his pre-employment physical revealed a rotator cuff injury.

‘Not able to meet job duties’

He was cleared to work, but only if granted several accommodations, including not having to lift his hand above his shoulder.

According to the court ruling, the turning point occurred when human resources notified JFS’s technical services manager about the doctor’s proposed accommodations and sought approval to proceed with Cannon’s hiring. In response, the technical services manager stated that Cannon would “not be able to meet the project needs and required job duties.”

A human resources representative contacted Cannon around this time. Not mentioning the seemingly unequivocal position taken by the manager that Cannon could not do the job, the HR representative informed Cannon only that JFS had concerns that he could not reach above his head with his right arm.

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