Several recent cases in the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals remind employers that their obligation to engage in the interactive process is an increasingly onerous one. First, in Keith v. County of Oakland, No. 11-2276 (6th...more
Nicholas Keith has been deaf since birth. After initially being offered a job as a lifeguard for Oakland County, Michigan, he, like all other County lifeguards, had to undergo a physical performed by a physician retained by...more
The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals recently addressed an issue of first impression, holding that the ability to hear is not necessarily an “essential function” of the job of lifeguard. Keith v. County of Oakland, No. 11-2276...more
In Keith v. County of Oakland, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit reversed summary judgment to a county pool that denied employment to a deaf lifeguard. Setting aside the issue that seems to have captivated the...more