EEOC Scores Disability Bias Trial for Mississippi Nurse

A jury must determine whether a Hattiesburg, Miss., hospital failed to accommodate a nurse’s medical restrictions after she hurt her shoulder, a federal judge ruled.

It’s unclear whether lifting and carrying 50 or more pounds and pushing up to 300 pounds really were essential functions of Lois Cooper’s job in the transitional care unit at Wesley Medical Center, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi said. A trial is therefore necessary on the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s claim against Wesley Health System Inc., it said.

Whether the hospital attempted to reasonably accommodate Cooper when it told her ...