Employer Not Entitled To Summary Judgment On Former Employee's Rehabilitation Act Retaliation Claim
The United States Postal Service (USPS) was not
entitled to summary judgment on a former employee's retaliation claim under the
Rehabilitation Act. The employee, a Vietnam War-era veteran who suffered from
post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression and allegedly had been
assaulted by a supervisor, was discharged for being Absent Without Leave (AWOL)
after he took an unpaid leave because of a mental disability. His termination
was reversed, and he was cleared to return to work in a limited duty status. The
USPS argued unsuccessfully that the 18-month time period between the employee's
appeal of his discharge and the alleged retaliation, in the form of denial of
his request for an accommodation, doomed any claim of causation. However, the
court defined the protected activity as his repeated request, nearly a year
after that appeal, for a return to work with certain accommodations.
Zeigler v. Potter