The Supreme Court agreed to decide how difficult it should be for disabled workers to sue their employers over alleged discrimination after they apply for or receive Social Security disability benefits. The justices voted to use the case of a Texas woman fired from her job after suffering a stroke to decide an issue the Clinton administration says has left federal appeals courts "in considerable disarray."
Carolyn Cleveland had worked for Policy Management Systems Corp. in Dallas for six months when in early 1994 she suffered a stroke. She took a leave of absence and applied for Social Security disability benefits. On her application, she said she was unable to work.
Several months later, Cleveland's doctor cleared her to return to work. She resumed her job with Policy Management Systems and notified Social Security officials about her improved health. But Cleveland had trouble performing her job and asked for several accommodations to help her. Her employer turned down each request, and fired her in July 1994. Cleveland subsequently renewed her application for disability benefits and, after receiving them, sued Policy Management Systems. She alleged that her ex-employer had violated the federal Americans with Disabilities Act by firing her .
The 1990 law bans employers from discriminating against a "qualified individual with a disability" because of that disability. The law defines a qualified individual as one who can perform the essential functions of his or her job when given reasonable accommodation.
A federal trial judge threw out Cleveland's lawsuit, and the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the dismissal last year. The appeals court said people who apply for or receive Social Security disability benefits have to overcome "a rebuttable presumption" that they are not a qualified individual as defined by the anti-discrimination law.
Cleveland's ensuing Supreme Court appeal was supported by the Clinton administration. Justice Department lawyers argued that the appeals court ruling conflicts with the positions of two federal agencies, the Social Security Administration and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The lower court's rationale is not shared by any other appeals court, they also noted.
Most other appeals courts have made it easier to pursue disabilities act lawsuits after having applied for or received disability benefits, the government lawyers said.
The case is Cleveland vs. Policy Management Systems Corp., 97-1008