A federal district court has ruled that a hospital employee can pursue an Americans with Disabilities Act retaliation claim even though she has no disability. Lakeisha Ellis, an emergency room employee at Georgetown University Hospital, suffered from infrequent asthma attacks. After an asthma attack at work, Ellis consulted with her doctor, who advised her that she could no longer work in the emergency room.
Ellis contacted her manager and requested reassignment as an ADA accommodation. After providing written documentation from her physician, she went home to wait for a decision by her supervisor. Ellis’ supervisor testified that Ellis was instructed to wait on site for the decision, and was subsequently fired for “misconduct.”
Ellis filed a lawsuit alleging it failed to accommodate her asthma and retaliated against her for requesting accommodation, both in violation of the ADA. Because Ellis experiences asthma attacks only every six or seven months, and for five to 10 minutes at a time, the court determined that her asthma did not rise to the level of a disability under the ADA and dismissed her discrimination claim. However, Ellis may continue with the retaliation claim because a good-faith request for accommodation is a protected activity. (Ellis v. Georgetown University Hospital, No. 08-1174, 2010 WL 2721848 (D.D.C. July 12, 2010))
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