April 2014 - Parks & Recreation - 28

L AW R E V I E W

Park Administrations Back Disability ADA Claims
By James C. Kozlowski, J.D., Ph.D.

T

o be entitled to protection under the Americans with Disabilities Act
(ADA), an employee must establish that he or she is a " qualified individual " with a disability (42 U.S.C. § 12112(a)). A " qualified individual " is
one who " with or without reasonable accommodation can perform the essential
functions of the employment position that such individual holds or desires " (42
U.S.C. § 12111(8)). In pertinent part, the ADA defines " disability " as " a physical
or mental impairment that substantially limits one of more major life activities. "
Parks Operations Supervisor
In the case of Howard v. City and County of Denver, plaintiff Vernon Howard
was terminated from his position as an
operations supervisor in the Denver
Department of Parks and Recreation.
After Howard suffered a back injury,
the issue was whether his back condition constituted a disability under the
ADA. If so, the subsequent issue was
whether Howard's disability could be
reasonably accommodated by Denver.
In his report to Denver, Howard's
doctor indicated he could return to

26

Parks & Recreation

work with certain restrictions. Specifically, Howard could not engage in " frequent lifting of more than 20 pounds, "
as well as " no repetitive lifting, bending or stooping. " Howard's doctor
further opined that " a desk job would
be significantly more in the interest of
Mr. Howard's continued recovery. "
Based on this report, Denver considered Howard " disabled " under
the ADA. More significantly, however, Denver did not consider Howard
" capable of performing the essential
functions of his position as opera-

| A P R I L 2 0 1 4 | W W W. N R PA . O R G

tions supervisor, due to his medical
restrictions. " Moreover, Denver had
no vacant clerical positions, which did
not require bending and stooping. As
a result, Howard's employment with
Denver was terminated.
Following his termination, Howard
claimed he was " ready and able " to
return to his position as operations supervisor and challenged Denver's conclusion that he could no longer perform
the essential functions of his position.
According to Howard, " the particular physically taxing tasks that Denver
deems 'essential' are not tasks that are
actually performed by operations supervisors. " As a result, Howard claimed
his termination constituted disability
discrimination in violation of the ADA.
Essential Job Functions
In determining whether Howard was



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