If an employee drives to meet with clients for most of the average work day, is driving considered an essential function of the job? Perhaps not, said one federal appeals court.
Whitney Stephenson was a senior pharmaceutical representative for Pfizer, Inc. Actually, she was a world class pharmaceutical rep whose achievements garnered her a spot in the company’s “Hall of Fame,” and the designation of “Pfizer Master.”
Company Sets Up Roadblock
Stephenson’s job required that she drive around the region to give presentations to health care providers and encourage them to prescribe Pfizer-made drugs to their patients. Unfortunately, she developed an eye condition that impaired her ability to drive. She could still make the presentations and work effectively with her customers but she was no longer able to drive to her assignments.
Stephenson requested an accommodation in the form of an assigned driver. After all, she wasn’t hired to drive – she was hired to make presentations and she could still do so quite effectively once she arrived at her location. The company declined, however, claiming that driving a car was an essential function of her job and that hiring a driver just for her was “inherently unreasonable.” They expanded on this in court, explaining that they would face “significant increased risk and liability related to vehicular accidents, workers compensation and misappropriation of and/or lost drug samples.”
Pfizer did offer to accommodate Stephenson by giving her the chance to transfer to different positions within the company that did not require her to travel. Stephenson rejected that opportunity, however, and sued the company for failing to accommodate her as required under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
Employee Gears Up For Litigation
The key issue was whether driving was an essential function of the job. If so, the company had no legal to duty to accommodate her. On the other hand, if driving was not an essential function, the company would have to come up with a reasonable accommodation that would permit Stephenson to complete the truly essential parts of her job, namely presentations to the doctors and advocacy of Pfizer products.
The lower court dismissed the case but the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed, noting that the ADA identifies two critical factors for evaluating if a job function is essential:
– the employer’s judgment of the essential functions; and
– if a written job description has been prepared before recruitment or interviews of job candidates.
Court Puts Employee in the Driver’s Seat
The Appeals Court zeroed in on the fact that Stephenson’s job description did not list driving as one of her duties, nor did it identify possession of a valid driver’s license as a requirement. Moreover, five of the seven postings for that job in the past year failed to state that a valid driver’s license was required (the other two did in fact include this requirement).
Overall, the appeals court was not prepared to say for sure whether driving was an essential function of Stephenson’s job or not. Instead, they reversed the dismissal, steered the case back to the trial court and left it to the jury to decide which path this case should take.
Bottom Line
The turning point in this case obviously was the disconnect between the company’s stated reason for denying the accommodation and the lack of documentation to back it up. While this one factor may not be the sole determinant in all cases, it certainly makes good sense to bolster the potential for using the job description as evidence of a job’s essential functions. Any job that requires regular operation of a motor vehicle away from the home office should list “driving” as an essential function in the job description. A valid driver’s license should also be included in the minimum required qualifications.
This case, and others like it, remind us that if an employee is unable to drive and seeks an accommodation, don’t just dismiss the request out of hand. Like any other accommodation request, give it serious consideration, examine the alternatives and document your reasons for denying the request if in fact that is your decision. Or, perhaps get an Uber account.