Eleventh Circuit Holds Adverse Employment Action Is Required In ADA Failure-To-Accommodate Claims

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, in Beasley v. O'Reilly Auto Parts, recently held that a claim for failure-to-accommodate under the Americans with Disability Act (ADA) must include an adverse employment action.¹ That is, "discrimination in the form of a failure to reasonably accommodate is actionable under the ADA only if that failure negatively impacts the employee's hiring, advancement, discharge, compensation, training, and other terms, conditions, and privileges of his employment."²

By increasing the burden plaintiffs must overcome in failure-to-accommodate cases, Beasley represents good news for employers in the Eleventh Circuit, which covers Florida, Georgia, and Alabama. The long-term impact of Beasley, however, is unclear. Currently, federal appellate courts are split on whether an adverse employment action is necessary for a failure-to-accommodate claim to stand,³ and if the United States Supreme Court chooses to address this split, the Eleventh Circuit's heightened standard could prove short-lived.

The Lawsuit and Eleventh Circuit's Decision

In Beasley, the plaintiff worked for O'Reilly Auto Parts as a warehouse worker. He is deaf and can...