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Supreme Court Delivers Another Blow to ADAFeature Story by Katie Drake - 5/6/2002 The Supreme Court’s most recent interpretation of the scope of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), US Airways v. Barnett, has disappointed both the conservative and liberal judges of the court, and has troubled the disability community.The 5-4 ruling represents is the latest in a line of recent Supreme Court decisions narrowing employee protections under the Act. US Airways v. Barnett involved a baggage handler for US Airways, Robert Barnett, who had injured his back. The company had placed him temporarily in the mailroom, a job that was less physically stressful. But, the company would not make the job permanent because those with more seniority were first entitled to the position under company policy. Barnett challenged the company on the grounds of the "reasonable accommodation" requirement in the ADA. The Supreme Court ruled that seniority almost always takes priority over the requests of disabled workers. The majority noted, however, that an exception to the seniority rule might be warranted where the disabled employee could prove "special circumstances." The dissents took issue with the majority from two different directions. Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas argued that the decision did not go far enough. They felt that the acknowledgment that there could be "special cases" muddied the waters, leaving open the possibility of increased litigation. By contrast, Justices David H. Souter and Ruth Bader Ginsburg argued that the decision gave too much weight to seniority. The ADA states that seniority should be a factor in deciding what is reasonable accommodation but should not prevail in all cases. US Airways is one of several recent Supreme Court decisions narrowing the ADA’s reach:
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