Texas Court to Consider: Is Mold-Related Illness a Disability?

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Tuesday, January 20, 2004

Texas Court to Consider: Is Mold-Related Illness a Disability?

http://acca.blogs.com/accabuzz/legal_issues/index.html

A federal court in Texas recently found sufficient dispute as to the

facts in a case involving the effects of mold on the ability of a

plaintiff to perform her job and denied defendant City of San

's motion to dismiss the case outright. The plaintiff worked

for the defendant city for several years when she developed a

respiratory condition known as chronic rhinitis (as well as being

diagnosed with " sick building syndrome " ), which allegedly resulted

from her exposure to certain building-borne molds at defendant's

offices.

The City attempted abatement of any mold or fungus problems, but

plaintiff continued to contend her inability to work at the offices,

and refused to return to work until the facility was pronounced mold-

free, and subsequently filed a claim against the City alleging

violation of state and federal anti-disability-discrimination

statutes under the Americans with Disabilities Act ( " ADA " ) and the

Texas Labor Code ( " the Code " ).

Defendant claimed that plaintiff's claim under the ADA should be

dismissed as a matter of law because she failed to meet all the

requisite elements of such a claim, namely, that she failed to

establish that her condition constituted a disability as

contemplated by the ADA (and similarly, that she is disabled), and

secondly that she failed to establish that her accommodation request

was reasonable or that such an accommodation would allow her to

perform her essential job functions. The judge in the Western

District of Texas, San Division, disagreed, and allowed the

case to go forward, finding triable issues of material fact existed

regarding her cause of action for disability discrimination under

the Code and the ADA.

Posted by Atkins at 04:22 PM in Legal Issues | Permalink |

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