The
Tenth
Circuit
Court
of
Appeals,
which
has
jurisdiction
over
Kansas
Federal
Courts,
has
clarified
an
employer’s
obligations
under
the
Americans
with
Disabilities
Act
(“ADA”)
when
an
employee
requests
to
work
remotely.
Specifically,
the
court
ruled
that
employers
are
not
obligated
to
provide
accommodations
for
non-work-related
barriers,
such
as
transportation
issues.
The
case
arose
after
a
clinical
dietitian
became
legally
blind
and
could
no
longer
make
the
120-mile
round-trip
commute
to
and
from
work.
The
hospital
granted
the
employee’s
request
for
a
flexible
work
schedule
to
accommodate
her
transportation
struggles,
permitting
her
to
work
part-time
from
home,
but
requiring
her
to
work
a
majority
of
her
hours
on-site.
After
15
months,
the
hospital
notified
the
employee
that
it
would
be
ending
the
flexible
work
schedule,
because
her
physical
presence
at
the
hospital
was
unpredictable
and
patient
satisfaction
had
suffered.
The
employee
then
requested
to
telecommute
full-time.
The
hospital
denied
her
request,
stating
that
her
position
required
over
four
hours
of
in-person
face-to-face
interactions
per
day.
The
hospital
eventually
terminated
employment,
explaining
that
the
essential
functions
of
the
position
could
not
“be
accommodated
through
telecommuting
and
irregular
and
unpredictable
physical
presence
at
the
hospital.”
The
Tenth
Circuit
affirmed
the
district
court’s
decision,
which
held
that
the
employee’s
requests
for
a
flexible
schedule
without
a
set
schedule
or,
in
the
alternative,
to
telecommute
full-time,
were
unreasonable.
A
requested
accommodation
is
unreasonable
if
it
asks
the
employer
to
relieve
the
employee
of
an
essential
function
of
his
or
her
position.
Here,
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