In the largest settlement ever for an Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) case, an epileptic truck driver was awarded $5.5 million by a federal jury. The truck driver alleged his employer refused to assign him to a job for which he was qualified because he suffers from epilepsy.

Thomas Lewis, 45, of Flushing, Mich. drove a truck for Complete Auto Transit for 13 years. He suffered an epileptic seizure at his home in 1989. Complete Auto Transit placed him on sick leave pending determination of his abilities to continue his truck driver duties. It was medically determined that Lewis had a condition which would not improve, and therefore could not return to work as a commercial truck driver.

A yard worker job became available for which Lewis was eligible based on his seniority. He applied for the yard worker job, but Complete Auto Transit turned him down claiming he was a “direct threat”. Not satisfied with his employer’s decision, Lewis submitted to various medical examinations to prove that he could perform the essential functions of the yard worker job. All of the examining physicians, including two physicians selected by Complete Auto Transit, determined that Lewis was qualified to fill the yard worker position.

The crux of this ADA lawsuit is that Complete Auto Transit refused to assign Lewis to an available position for which he was qualified, claiming that he posed a direct threat.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission did not dispute Complete Auto Transit’s decision to terminate Lewis’ responsibilities as a truck driver. Complete Auto Transit was clearly justified in determining that Lewis posed a direct threat to the health or safety of others as a commercial truck driver. Over time, the likelihood of a severe accident was high. In fact, Lewis had an epileptic seizure while driving his personal car in 1996.

With respect to the yard worker job, the medical evidence was undisputed that the employee was qualified for the position. The last evaluating physician selected by the employer stated that if the employee had a seizure while performing the yard worker job, injury would occur to Lewis alone, and any injury would be minor. Therefore, Lewis did not pose a direct threat, and the employer’s claim to the contrary was untenable.

The $5.5 million settlement reflects $191,931 in back pay, $959,655 in compensatory damages, and $4,345,651 in punitive damages. Punitive damages are awarded against non-governmental defendants when the employee / plaintiff can demonstrate that their employer discriminated “with malice or reckless indifference to the [plaintiff’s] federally protected rights.”

What lessons can be learned from the Complete Auto Transit case? For starters, if you are going to assert the direct threat defense, it is imperative that your position be supported by reasonable medical judgment. Equally important, if there is a vacant position in your company, and if the doctors (especially your own) conclude that an employee is qualified for a job, then absent a compelling reason to the contrary, you must place the individual in the vacant position. Otherwise, be prepared to pay -- in the Complete Auto Transit case $5.5 million -- the consequences.

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