The ADA Has Teeth

The Seventh Circuit also recently reinstated a claim under the ADA by a prospective telemarketer with 18 missing teeth, who was discharged after three days of training because he "mumbled" on the phone. As Judge Easterbrook wrote, "unlike [plaintiff], the Americans with Disabilities Act has teeth."

Robert Johnson's claim had been dismissed by the district court, which held that Johnson was not disabled within the meaning of the ADA because his missing teeth do not rise to the level of a "cosmetic disfigurement." The Seventh Circuit reversed and remanded the case, holding that Johnson's claim that he was "regarded as" disabled by his employer was cognizable under the ADA, even in the absence of an objective disability. The Court went on to note, however, that the telemarketing company had many other defenses to Johnson's ADA claim, including that Johnson is not entitled to ADA protection because mumbling does not substantially limit a major life activity, a prerequisite to ADA protection. The appeals court left consideration of such other defenses to the district court, however. Johnson v. American Chamber of Commerce Publishers, Inc.