Americans with Disabilities Act-COVID Absence

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7^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: Anna Kinney v. St. Mary’s Health, Inc.

Case No.: 22-2740

Officials: Easterbrook, Wood, and Hamilton, Circuit Judges.

Focus: Americans with Disabilities Act-COVID Absence

Plaintiff Kinney held the role of director of imaging services at a hospital. In 2018, her request for intermittent medical leave due to anxiety was approved by her employer. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Kinney began remote work in March 2020. Although her colleagues returned to the workplace following the establishment of safety protocols, Kinney continued remote work without formal authorization. She claimed that she couldn’t adhere to the hospital’s COVID-19 mask protocol due to the exacerbation of her anxiety when wearing face coverings. As concerns arose due to her prolonged absence, hospital management informed Kinney that she needed to work on-site for several days each week. Despite her request for accommodations, management declined.

Subsequently, Kinney chose to resign and proceeded to file a lawsuit against the hospital under the Americans with Disabilities Act (42 U.S.C. 12101), Title VI (42 U.S.C. 2000e) with allegations of a hostile work environment, gender-based discrimination in the context of promotion decisions, and constructive discharge. Additionally, she brought a claim under the Family and Medical Leave Act (29 U.S.C. 2601) alleging retaliation. The Seventh Circuit upholds the summary judgment granted to the hospital. The court concludes that no reasonable juror could reasonably determine that Kinney could fulfill crucial job responsibilities without physically being present in the department she supervised. Thus, under the ADA, Kinney was not qualified for the role, and her request for accommodation was considered unreasonable. Furthermore, her resignation was not considered a constructive discharge. Additionally, Kinney did not provide substantive evidence indicating that she was similarly or more qualified for the position compared to the male candidate who was chosen.

Affirmed

Decided 08/07/23

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