Federal Disability Discrimination Law and the Toxic Workplace: A Critique of ADA and Section 504 Case Law Addressing Impairments Caused or Exacerbated by the Work Environment

Abstract

This article examines a line of cases addressing the toxic workplace under the ADA and Section 504, which hold that, where an impairment is caused solely by the work environment and substantially limits major life activities other than working, the question of whether a worker is disabled must be evaluated under so-called foreclosure or class-based analysis. The article discusses the framework for traditional disability discrimination analysis, and then tracks the line of cases deviating from the traditional analysis. Ultimately, the article rejects the holding in these cases, demonstrating that the courts’ focus on causation (a) runs contrary to Congressional intent, (b) is illogical and improperly requires additional issues of proof, and (c) prematurely truncates ADA and Section 504 analysis by resolving cases at the disability stage and not evaluating reasonable accommodation issues. The article concludes that the appropriate fix should come from future judicial decisions, not Congress.