In the recent case of Gambini v. Total Rental Care, Inc. d/b/a Da Vita, Inc., the court relied upon the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) in holding that the State of Washington’s statute prohibiting disability discrimination required conduct arising from a disability to be considered a part of the disability and thus prevented such conduct from being considered as separate grounds for a termination.
In the Gambini case, Stephanie Gambini (“Gambini”) worked for Da Vita, Inc. (“Da Vita”). Gambini suffered from bipolar disorder, which caused her to experience depression, anxiety, and on one occasion caused her to suffer an emotional breakdown while at work. Gambini advised Da Vita of her condition and that she was seeking treatment from her doctor. The treatment was not successful and when her symptoms worsened, her job performance suffered.
As a result of her deteriorating performance, Da Vita presented Gambini with a performance improvement plan. During the meeting in which the plan was presented, Gambini cried and threw the performance improvement plan across the desk at her supervisors, to whom she also directed numerous profanities. When she returned to her desk, Gambini called her therapist and admitted that she was suffering from suicidal thoughts. Concerned about her condition, Gambini’s therapist had her admitted to the hospital.
Upon Gambini’s admission, Da Vita placed Gambini on leave as provided by the Family Medical Leave Act (the “Act”). Da Vita also began an investigation of Gambini’s conduct in the workplace. Upon discovering additional emotional outbursts by Gambini, Da Vita concluded her conduct violated Da Vita’s workplace conduct rules and terminated Gambini. Gambini filed suit alleging a violation of the State of Washington’s statute prohibiting disability discrimination and the Act. The jury ruled in favor of Da Vita.
On appeal, Gambini argued that the jury failed to connect the conduct resulting from Gambini’s disability, her emotional outbursts, to the disability itself. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals agreed. The Court found that under the ADA, “conduct resulting from a disability is considered part of the disability, rather than a separate basis for termination.” Washington’s state statute also required the jury to make such a connection because the state statute’s prohibition against disability discrimination was the same as the ADA’s. Accordingly, Gambini was entitled to a new trial because the jury had not been properly instructed to make such a connection.
In so much as the Illinois Human Rights Act contains a similar prohibition against disability discrimination as the Washington statute, considering the Court’s comments regarding the prohibitions of the ADA, Illinois employers with 15 or more employees must proceed with caution when deciding whether to discipline or discharge an employee for misconduct which may arise as a result of a disability. If the employer concludes the disability or its treatment caused the misconduct, the employer may not discipline or terminate the employee until the employer complies with the ADA’s reasonable accommodation requirements.
If you have a question about whether misconduct is related to a disability, please telephone a member of the firm.