Remember that Temporary Conditions Can Still Be Disabilities Under the ADA.

Before the Americans with Disabilities Act was amended back in 2008, the clear rule was that conditions lasting less than 6 months were not considered disabilities. That changed, however, with the ADA Amendments Act – but many employers still (incorrectly) use the 6-month cut-off. And they do so at their peril, as a recent case from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit makes clear.

In Morgan v. Allison Crane & Rigging LLC dba Allison Crane & Rigging, the employee had a lower back injury that resulted in lifting and bending limitations for several months. He was then terminated for failure to “follow the day off request process as well as other policies” when he supposedly failed to show to work one day. He sued for violation of the ADA, but the federal district court threw out his claims, finding, among other things, that the employee was not disabled because his back pain was both transitory and minor (applying prior ADA precedent).

The Third Circuit used this case to clarify that the prior precedent was no longer good law. Rather, “temporary impairments can qualify as an actual disability under the ADA.” The critical question focuses on whether the condition “substantially limits” the employee’s ability “to perform a major life activity as compared to most people in the general population.” While duration may be relevant, it “is not dispositive of whether someone is disabled.” (Emphasis in original). Under the ADA Amendments Act, conditions that are both “transitory and minor” are not disabilities – but a condition may be transitory but not minor, and therefore fall under the ADA’s coverage. Moreover, the “minor” requirement is intended to exclude only those impairments “at the lowest end of the spectrum of severity,” like a cold or the flu. In this case, the employee’s back pain caused difficulty bending, lifting, walking, and turning left or right, so it was clearly “more than minor pain.”

With this case, the Third Circuit joins multiple sister Circuits that have previously held that temporary impairments may be disabilities within the meaning of the ADA. Employers should be aware even short-lived conditions may be protected disabilities, and engage in the interactive process to determine if there are reasonable accommodations available for the employee.