Brian Ashe Quoted in Business Insurance
Workplace accommodation responsibilities to be shared; Federal appeals court says employer failed to fulfill its obligations

Brian Ashe was quoted in the July 16, 2007 issue of Business Insurance. The article, “Workplace accommodation responsibilities to be shared,” discusses the decision upheld by the 8th U. S. Circuit Court of Appeals on July 6 in Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and Ahmet Yigit Demirelli v. Covergys Customer Management Group Inc. The federal appellate decision upheld a $100,000 jury award in favor of a wheelchair-bound worker who unsuccessfully suggested several accommodations to his employer and was then terminated.

Brian likens the interactive process called for by the Americans with Disabilities Act in which employers work together with handicapped employees to reasonably accommodate their needs, “a lot like a tango.” In this case, however, Brian notes, “the employer wasn’t dancing at all.”