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Reproduction/ADA
Discuss employment-law issues such as family leave, overtime, disabilities law, harassment, immigration and termination.
Can anyone tell me if (in Illinois) infertility can be considered protected under ADA? I realize that it won't qualify under FMLA but since reproduction constitutes a major life activity, would infert
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Forums » Topic Forums » Legal Forum » Reproduction/ADA
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Reproduction/ADA
posted at 8/5/1999 4:43 AM EDT
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Posts: 6
First: 7/31/1999 Last: 8/13/2000 |
Can anyone tell me if (in Illinois) infertility can be considered protected under ADA? I realize that it won't qualify under FMLA but since reproduction constitutes a major life activity, would infertility be considered an impairment? |
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Reproduction/ADA
posted at 8/5/1999 5:06 AM EDT
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Posts: 946
First: 6/14/1999 Last: 12/14/2005 |
I believe that there was a recent federal or US Supreme Court decision that addressed that very issue. I think it held that sexual reproduction was a major life activity for ADA purposes. A person with HIV or AIDS may be considered a person with a disability because they would be "prohibited" from sexual activity, thus reproduction. However, as with any other medical impairment, the individual circumstances must be looked at to properly determine whether the individual is qualified under ADA, not simply the status of the impairment he or she may have. The impairment is made in comparison to the average individual. If you are looking at Title I issues (as compared to Title II or III), as they relate to reasonable accommodation, it would be pretty hard in most situations, to show how the medical inability to sexually reproduce results in the need for a reasonable accommodation to perform the essential duties of the job. |
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Reproduction/ADA
posted at 8/5/1999 7:50 AM EDT
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Posts: 6
First: 7/31/1999 Last: 8/13/2000 |
Hatchetman
I really appreciate the quick response. We have an employee undergoing treatments in her second attempt and has missed 3 weeks work time since the end of April. She is requesting 2 weeks additional leave as an accommodation under ADA. Any thoughts? |
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Reproduction/ADA
posted at 8/5/1999 12:06 PM EDT
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Posts: 946
First: 6/14/1999 Last: 12/14/2005 |
The issue for reasonable accommodation is permit the ADA qualified employee to perform the essential duties of the job. ASSUMING the employee is ADA qualified because of the sexual reproduction problem, how would allowing her leave as an accommodation permit her to perform the essential duties of her job. The physician would have to say that her sexual reproduction impairment prevents her fromperforming those duties in some manner and she needs to take the leave so that upon her return to work she can perform the essential duties of the job. But the problem is to connect the dots. Unlike some other leave caused by a ADA disability that could prevent the employee from doing the essential duties, e.g., cancer of the lungs requiring an operation, hiw dies sexual problems affect the job. That's part of what you need to find out as part of the determination of the employee's eligibility under ADA for reasonable accommodation. |
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Reproduction/ADA
posted at 8/8/1999 11:29 PM EDT
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Posts: 2217
First: 6/16/1999 Last: 12/13/2001 |
The case Hatchetman has in midn is Bragdon v. Abbott, 188 S.Ct. 2196 (1998), which is a U.S. Supreme Court decision under the ADA (not Illinois state law). Bragdon is a complex case, worth reading if your situation raises serious ADA issues. One conclusion the Court reaches is that, while asymptomatic HIV is not a disability per se, procreation is a major live activity cognizable under the ADA. |
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