Employer Obligations in the Workplace

By Gail I. Cohen, Esq.

Assistant General Counsel, Employment & Litigation
Matrix Absence Management, Inc.

While the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was passed more than 30 years ago, there is still one provision that doesn’t get much attention: an employer’s obligation to provide equal access to benefits and privileges of employment. A recent federal court case, EEOC v. Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of Georgia¹, highlights confusion when employers focus solely on the duty to provide reasonable accommodations to disabled individuals to perform essential functions of their positions.

Overview of the Facts

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) brought this lawsuit on behalf of Sharion Murphy, an employee who requested an alternative to the revolving door at the entrance of her workplace, which she contended was necessitated by her claustrophobia. The employer sought information from Murphy’s healthcare provider to support her request. They concluded it was incomplete because it did not tie her need for an alternative to the revolving door to her essential job functions and did not address other instances in which the employer might expect her to need accommodation. The employer ultimately granted the request after a six-month delay — a delay the EEOC contended in its lawsuit violated the ADA. A magistrate judge sided with the EEOC, and in this opinion, the court agreed.

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