Workers’ ADA Lawsuits Face Higher Legal Bar: 9th Cir. (1)

A pair of U.S. Supreme Court cases clarified the level of proof workers need to establish disability discrimination under federal law, the Ninth Circuit ruled Aug. 20.

The justices’ 2009 decision in Gross v. FBL Financial Servs., Inc. finding employees must show age bias was the “but-for” cause of an adverse employment action effectively overturned prior Ninth Circuit precedent under the Americans with Disabilities Act, the court said. It had held in 2005 that workers suing under the ADA only needed to prove bias was a “motivating factor” in their alleged mistreatment, the court said.

But the ADA’s prohibition of ...