National Grid Workers Get Trial Over Remote-Work Accommodations

A jury must decide whether in-person attendance was essential for two National Grid USA dispatchers allegedly denied job accommodations for the Covid-19 risks posed by their disabilities, a federal judge ruled.

The electricity and gas utility company was wrong that public-safety concerns relating to its dispatcher jobs meant its judgment as to which job duties are essential was entitled to more than the “considerable deference” an employer’s view typically receives, the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York said. The cases National Grid cited to support that argument involved different facts and are too dissimilar to the ...