Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals Rejects County Employee's Disability Discrimination Claim

Roger Duello sued Buchanan County, Iowa for wrongful termination, in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA") and the Iowa Civil Rights Act. The district court found in favor of the County, holding that Mr. Duello could not prevail under either statute because he was not a "qualified individual" within the meaning of the ADA.

Mr. Duello appealed the District Court's grant of summary judgment in favor of the County and the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed. Specifically, the reviewing court found that even assuming Mr. Duello met the essential prerequisites for his position, he was unable to perform the essential functions of his job because he had lost his driver's license. According to the court, driving and working around machinery were essential functions of Mr. Duello's job. The court noted Mr. Duello's own deposition testimony where he testified: "Q: You couldn't perform the functions or the duties of [an] Operator II? A: Correct." The court also found that, although other County employees who had lost their driver's licenses were not terminated, those employees were not "similarly situated" to Mr. Duello and thus their situations failed to create an issue of fact as to whether the County had an ongoing practice of excusing employees from driving and working around machinery when they were temporarily disabled from doing so.

Duello v. Buchanan County Bd. of Supervisors, No. 10-2016 (8th Cir. Dec. 20, 2010).