Brown v. Milwaukee Bd. of School Directors

Dist. Ct. did not err in granting defendant-employer’s motion for summary judgment in plaintiff-school assistant principal’s Americans with Disability Act claim, alleging that defendant terminated her on account of her knee disability, and that defendant had failed to accommodate her disability by finding her new position. Record showed that plaintiff and her doctors repeatedly told defendant that she could not be in vicinity of “potentially unruly students,” and that defendant terminated her after plaintiff's medical leave benefits ran out when plaintiff failed to return to her job or to another position.  Moreover, plaintiff could not return to her assistant principal’s job or be assigned to all but one of suggested potential jobs because she would be in proximity to "unruly students" for each position that would have violated her medical restriction. Also, while remaining potential job did not involve proximity to unruly students, defendant did not violate ADA by failing to place plaintiff into said job, since said job would have been promotion to plaintiff, who was not otherwise most qualified candidate for said position. Ct. further noted that plaintiff had failed to present evidence indicating that positions she wanted could have been modified to avoid student contact.