Employee With Parkinson's “Regarded As Disabled” Under ADA
In this case, the 4th Circuit held that an employer regarded an employee diagnosed with Parkinson's disease as having an impairment that substantially limited him in the major life activities of performing manual tasks and seeing, so that the employee was regarded as disabled within the meaning of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) at the time he was discharged.
The evidence showed that the
employer had a mistaken perception that the employee's impairment was greater
than it actually was. The company president stated in an e-mail that the
employee qualified for an ADA designation. Also, the employer discounted the
treating neurologist's opinion that the employee could return to work without
restrictions. The employer erroneously believed that the employee was unable to
adequately key information into a computer, and to utilize information on the
computer. The employer instructed the employee not to perform certain tasks on
the computer and not to perform manual counting tasks. The neurologist opined
that the employee's symptoms were under good control at the time of his
discharge.
Wilson v. Phoenix
Specialty Mfg. Co., Inc.
The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals’ jurisdiction includes Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia.