Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment Defeated in Disability Discrimination Case

The lawyers at Sabatini and Associates have defeated yet another motion for summary judgment filed by a defendant  - the former employer of our client - in a disability discrimination/wrongful termination case.  In this matter, our client had a medical condition that required in-patient medical treatment.  Because the client needed in-patient treatment, he needed to take a leave of absence from his job.  The employer fired him while he was out on leave. The law requires employers to accommodate employees who have a medical condition that requires in-patient medical treatment.  The accommodations include a leave of absence as the leave of absence provides the employee with the necessary time to receive treatment and care for the medical condition so that he can return to work.  Employers like to argue that attendance is an essential function of the job and therefore the employee's inability to work (i.e. the leave of absence) means that the person is not qualified for the job.  This argument is wrong as it conflicts with the law.  The law recognizes that a leave of absence as a form of accommodation.  A leave of absence allows a disabled employee to regain the ability to work in the near future.