When facing requests from a qualified disabled worker, the Americans with Disabilities Act allows employers to choose an effective accommodation, even if it is not the one preferred by the employee. Earlier this week, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals (which includes North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia) reminded employees that the ADA does not require their employers to remove even nonessential job functions if they can devise another reasonable accommodation.

In Tartaro-McGowan v. Inova Home Health LLC, the plaintiff was a clinical manager to a home health agency who was asked during the COVID-19 pandemic to conduct patient home visits due to staffing shortages. She refused, providing doctor’s information indicating that her arthritis prevented her from performing field work. As an alternative, the employer offered to pre-screen patients to make sure that she was not assigned job duties that exacerbated her medical condition. The plaintiff refused, insisting on a complete exemption from field duties. She sued under the ADA after being terminated.

The Fourth Circuit affirmed the district court’s dismissal of the claim on summary judgment. The court rejected the plaintiff’s claim that because the field visits were not essential functions of her position, the employer must agree to reallocate them to other employees if she requests an accommodation. The opinion makes clear the employer’s entitlement to restructure nonessential functions that result in an effective accommodation.

The court also noted the burden placed on other employees resulting from the plaintiff’s refusal to work in the field during the pandemic. Agreeing to her total exemption from such duties would have constituted an undue hardship on the business. When responding to an employee’s request for a medical accommodation, the employer should explore options for finding a solution that meets both the worker’s medical and the company’s business needs.

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