SHRM may have put one lawsuit to rest, but another one lurks on the horizon. A global authority on work, workers, and the workplace, SHRM has been hit with another disability discrimination lawsuit, with allegations of denying a job seeker employment over their request to accommodate a service dog. Filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia by law firm KCNF, the lawsuit alleges that SHRM violated the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Virginia Human Rights Act by retracting a job offer when the job seeker requested accommodations for her Type 1 diabetes. SHRM has not commented on the case, but the allegations serve as a reminder of the various ways that ADA accommodations can take shape.
SHRM is now faced with a disability discrimination lawsuit over allegedly rescinding a job offer due to the job seeker’s reliance on a service dog. (Image: Pexels)
Understanding the SHRM Disability Discrimination Lawsuit
The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) is being sued over ADA violations, with the allegations filed by a job applicant with Type 1 diabetes who relies on a service dog to alert her to sudden, possibly fatal, changes to her blood glucose levels.
The applicant, who had received an offer for the post of a senior specialist in SHRM’s product management department, disclosed her reliance on the service dog and requested the accommodation to be made to ensure her service dog was allowed to assist with her physical safety at work. SHRM allegedly requested the plaintiff to provide more information, and then rescinded the job offer that was made without any explanation.
The service dog was a medically necessary accommodation for the job seeker, who explained, “I did not anticipate there would be any issue with bringing my service dog with me to the office. He had been with me for years in my prior job without any problems. I brought this case because I believe employers should follow the law and treat people with disabilities fairly. I was excited to join SHRM and was shocked by the way I was treated.”
Speaking about the case, Lori Kisch, the counsel at KCNF, said in an announcement, “Our client made a reasonable request for an accommodation that would allow her to work safely.” She also added that, “Federal and state law required SHRM to accommodate her. Instead of doing that, SHRM denied her accommodation request without explanation and rescinded the offer of employment. This would be troubling in any workplace, but it is especially alarming when the employer is an organization that trains others on ADA compliance.”
What Are Reasonable Accommodations Under the ADA?
The Americans with Disabilities Act provides safeguards for citizen who are qualified and able to perform the jobs they are hired for but require certain adjustments to be made to accommodate their disabilities to ensure they are not under undue strain or distress. “Reasonable accommodation” under the ADA requires employers to make moderate modifications to the workplace or their mode of operations to support these employees in seeking employment.
Accommodations that entail expensive changes or undue costs to the employer are rarely expected, but these “productivity enhancers” enable a qualified individual with a disability to perform the essential functions of a job or enjoy similar benefits of employment as their colleagues. Under the ADA, employers may be expected to make physical changes, such as installing a ramp to help employees get around, or provide accessible accessible technology, such as providing screen-reading software for an employee who might need it.
Policy enhancements also fall under the ADA provisions, and modifying a policy to allow a service animal in a business setting is a prime example of that. The ADA doesn’t have an explicit list of the exact adjustments that all employers need to be prepared to make, but any reasonable requests, such as the provision of a chair or the hiring of employees who are in recovery from addiction, fall within reasonable accommodations.
SHRM Has Not Clarified Its Position in the ADA Violation Suit
For now, SHRM has not confirmed or denied that it rescinded the job offer or violated the ADA in any way. A spokesperson told HR Dive, “Out of respect for the process, we’re not going to make any public statement at this time.” While the plaintiff in the SHRM disability discrimination lawsuit has alleged that the ADA violations were “willful and deliberate” and the decision was committed with “malice and reckless indifference” to her rights, the conclusion of this case will be for the courts in Virginia to decide.
The lawsuit follows close behind another lawsuit that was filed in 2022 and concluded earlier this month. A $11.5 million fine was placed on SHRM over allegations of race-based discrimination against a non-white worker. The latest allegations against SHRM regarding the rescinded job offer and violation of the ADA may similarly take a while to play out.
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