Welcome back, readers! This week, CertaPet’s news report centers around a case against the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) in which the plaintiff claims the HR association rescinded a job offer after she requested that they allow her fully trained service dog to accompany her to the office. Stick with us to learn more.
Lawsuit Claims SHRM Rescinded Employment Offer After Denying Applicant’s Request to Bring Service Dog
Court filings reveal a dispute between a job applicant and the Society for Human Resource Management that revolves around alleged violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
In the complaint, the plaintiff’s personal characterization of her hiring process said SHRM’s violations of the ADA were “willful and deliberate, and SHRM committed them with malice and reckless indifference to [her] protected rights.”
What makes the case surprising is that SHRM functions in the field of human resources management and regularly advises its members on compliance with the ADA.
Even so, the filing claims that the organization “brazenly disregarded its statutory obligations and rescinded its offer of employment to [the plaintiff] after she requested a reasonable accommodation to bring her trained service dog with her to work.”
The lawsuit also details the plaintiff’s medical background. She previously “suffered hypoglycemia so severe that she has experienced life-threatening blackout episodes” about 10 times per year, the filing states.
Additional details reveal that since being paired with a trained service dog eight years ago, the plaintiff experienced only one such episode, highlighting the critical role the animal played in her life.
After initially requesting more information related to the accommodation, SHRM allegedly denied the request, claiming that the plaintiff “was able to perform the essential duties of the job without the presence of her service dog,” the lawsuit said.
The plaintiff was then allowed to submit additional documentation, which showed that relying solely on a glucose monitoring system, as the organization suggested, wouldn’t be enough.
“After receiving this additional information from [the plaintiff] regarding the reasons why her service dog is the only reasonable accommodation to protect her from life-threatening events, SHRM, without any further engagement, abruptly ended the interactive process and withdrew its offer of employment,” the lawsuit revealed.
It’s been a tough couple of months for SHRM because this case was filed less than two weeks after a Colorado jury returned a verdict against the association in a separate trial involving race discrimination and retaliation.
In it, the plaintiff was awarded $11.9 million in damages. In that 2022 lawsuit, a former instructional designer alleged that her supervisor “systematically favored” White reports over non-White reports and that the organization retaliated after she complained.
Source: HRDive
CertaPet’s Thoughts on This Week’s News
Fully trained service dogs are entirely protected and covered under the ADA. By law, employers are required to engage in a good-faith interactive process regarding reasonable accommodation where service animals are concerned. ADA protections aren’t optional guidelines; rather, they’re enforceable obligations as this case reminds us. We’ll be sure to keep you updated as the case moves forward.
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