EEOC v. Humiston-Keeling Inc

EEOC v. Humiston-Keeling Inc: Court Rules on Job Reassignment Rights

This case involved a dispute over whether an employer must reassign a disabled worker to a different position when that worker couldn't perform their current job due to their disability. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) sued Humiston-Keeling Inc., arguing the company failed to properly accommodate a disabled employee by not moving them to an available position.

The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the employer. The court decided that under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), companies are not required to reassign disabled workers to vacant positions when other, more qualified candidates are available for those jobs. The key factor was that the court found no evidence that the employee's disability itself caused their poor performance – meaning their work issues weren't directly related to their disability.

What this means for workers: This ruling limits reassignment rights for disabled employees. While employers must still provide reasonable accommodations, they don't have to give disabled workers preference over better-qualified candidates when transferring to new positions. Workers seeking reassignment accommodations need to demonstrate that their disability directly impacts their ability to perform their current role, and that they're qualified for the position they're seeking.