Ailments were not serious enough for ADA claim

When is a disability not a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act? One way that an ailment is not a "disability" is when the ailment is a temporary one.

The case is Francis v. Hartford Board of Education, a summary order issued in January 16. Under federal antidiscrimination law, you cannot suffer discrimination because of a disability, which means it cannot be the reason for your termination, and, if necessary, management has to reasonably accommodate your disability so long as the accommodation does not remove an essential job duty and it does not present an undue burden for the employer.  Under the law, a disability is an ailment that creates a substantial limitation on a major life activity, such as eating, seeing, mobility, etc. While the ailment does not have to prevent or significantly or severely restrict daily activities, not every impairment is a disability

Here, plaintiff says she was discriminated against because of her disability, but the Court of Appeals (Jacobs, Calabresi and Rake-off [D.J.]) says she is not disabled under the law. Plaintiff had injuries to her shoulder and knee. She hurt the shoulder in September 2012 and was released from any physical restrictions in November 2012. As for the knee, plaintiff hurt it in December 2012 and was released from any restrictions in May 2013. As the Court says, "these injuries were too brief and too minor to qualify as disabilities under the ADA." The shoulder injury restricted her for two months, the knee injury, five months. And the limitations were relatively minor, lifting with her right arm and climbing stairs.

There are few Second Circuit cases dealing precisely with these issues, as demonstrated by the cites in this opinion, including Adams v. Citizens Advice Bureau, 187 F.3d 315, 316-17 (2d Cir. 1999), a 20-year-old case. Add this case to the list.