Case: Disability Discrimination/Perceived Disability (W.D. Pa.)

A machinist for Norfolk Southern Railway Co. is entitled to a trial on his claim that the company perceived him to be disabled following rotator cuff surgeries and that bias drove its refusal to allow him to return to his job despite his doctor’s medical clearance, a federal district court in Pennsylvania ruled. There are numerous factual disputes that a jury must resolve including the questions of whether he was actually disabled or perceived as disabled, whether he was able the perform essential functions of the job, and what those functions were, the court said. A jury could find the ...