Posted on 05/27/2009 11:39:24 AM PDT by pissant
Did the defendant, a motor carrier company, violate the Americans with Disabilities Act when it failed to employ over-the-road truck drivers who used prescription medications with side effects that could impair the ability to drive?
This was the central issue before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. J.B. Hunt Transport, Inc. The plaintiff appealed the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York's judgment granting the defendant's motion for summary judgment and denying plaintiff's motion for summary judgment. Specifically, the district court held that the defendant did not deny the applicants over-the-road driving positions on the basis of an actual or perceived disability or a record of disability as outlined in the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, 42 U.S.C. u 12101, et seq.
After a review of the facts, the Second Circuit affirmed the order of the district court. Judge Sonia Sotomayor issued a separate opinion dissenting.
(Excerpt) Read more at accessmylibrary.com ...
What else does DodoMajor want? Blind people hired as airline pilots?
I have great sympathy for handicapped people and will do everything possible to help them, but common sense must apply. She probably would be the first one to order the trucking company to pay a huge wrongful death award, if someone was killed by an impaired trucker.
Not joking, HE WAS BLIND!
You’re not too far off the mark. Several years back a one-eyed pilot sued an airline under the ADA.
# the=they
blind pilots and truck drivers that cannot drive.
oh boy.
Did the defendant, a motor carrier company, violate the Americans with Disabilities Act when it failed to employ over-the-road truck drivers who used prescription medications with side effects that could impair the ability to drive?
No.
I believe that one of the preconditions to possessing a class A CDL and operating a commercial vehicle is that the operator must not be under any prescriptions that could impair the ability to operate a vehicle safely.
I have a Class A CDL myself.
Hey c’mon. She’s showing empathy.
Unfortunately her empathy gets people killed.
§391.45 PHYSICAL QUALIFICATIONS FOR DRIVERS
(12) (i) Does not use a controlled substance identified in 21 CFR 1308.11 Schedule I, an amphetamine, a narcotic, or any other habit-forming drug. (ii) Exception: A driver may use such a substance or drug, if the substance or drug is prescribed by a licensed medical practitioner who: (A) Is familiar with the driver's medical history and assigned duties; and (B) Has advised the driver that the prescribed substance or drug will not adversely affect the driver's ability to safely operate a commercial motor vehicle.
.
Well, at least in that case it would be clear the ADA applied to the class of people (blindness is covered as a disability under the ADA), while in this case she tried to cover people who didn’t actually QUALIFY as a disability.
If they WERE covered as a disability, then you would have to rule if the restriction was reasonable. That would be why you couldn’t be a blind pilot, although Sotomayer would probably rule for the blind pilot if they were a woman or hispanic since she would empathize with them.
That will be the new standard question when discussing whether something is against the law.
“Is it against the law to rob that store?”
“It depends — is the perpetrator hispanic?”
Next would be is that standard behavior for the neighborhood in which you live? If so it is not a crime.
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