Plaintiff alleging disability discrimination in hiring case must prove he posseses the objective criteria required of the job

In this case a driver applied for but didn’t get a driving position with the defendant company. He claimed it was because of his disability, cancer, which was in remission. In fact he claimed to have pretty good evidence that his cancer was the reason: He said he’d asked and the company had told him, “Yes,” his cancer was the reason.

The company denied his claims and argued, before a jury was allowed to decide the evidence, his case should be dismissed on summary judgment because, even if true, he wasn’t qualified to do the job. The company pointed out two undisputed facts in its favor: (1) it required 3 years of mountain driving experience, (2) which the plaintiff did not have.

Both the trial court and the Tenth Circuit agreed with the company, holding that plaintiffs in disability-based hiring cases must prove they meet all objective qualification requirements, so long as those requirements are related to essential job functions. Without such evidence, his case was dismissed on summary judgment.

The case was Kilcrease v. Domenico Transp. Co., 828 F.3d 1214 (10th Cir. 1016).

Tags: ADA, disability, Tenth Circuit

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