A nurse will be allowed to pursue her claim that she was fired by a hospital based on a belief that she was physically unable to perform her job, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday.
In a unanimous decision, the court affirmed a majority ruling of a split Appellate Division panel that said existing issues of material fact should allow plaintiff Maryanne Grande a chance to show that she was fired from Saint Clare's Health System even though she was physically able to perform her job.
What is an "essential function" of a job is a fact issue, to be decided by a jury, the court said.
"An employee who is perceived to have a disability is protected just as someone who actually has a disability," said Justice Lee Solomon. "If a plaintiff establishes a prima facie case, 'a presumption arises that the employer unlawfully discriminated against the plaintiff,'" said Solomon, quoting the court's 1998 ruling in Clowes v. Terminix International.
In a concurring opinion, Justice Jaynee LaVecchia agreed that Grande should be allowed to proceed with her case. But she argued that the traditional three-step test's first step, placing the burden of proof on the plaintiff set by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1973 in McDonnell Douglas v. Green should be scrapped in favor of a process allowing a plaintiff to prove his or her case through direct evidence.
According to the decision, Grande, a registered nurse since 1985, was employed by Saint Clare's from 2000 to 2010. For most of her tenure, she was assigned to care for patients who were recovering from strokes a job that often required her to lift patients or prevent them from falling.
Beginning in 2007, Grande had several work-related injuries that affected both shoulders and required her to take time off in order to recuperate. In 2010, specialists retained by the hospital said Grande could return to work but could only perform limited tasks, and added that there should be a limit on the weight she should be allowed to carry, according to the decision.
Her doctor, however, certified that she could return to work with no restrictions, the suit alleges.
The hospital nevertheless fired her, saying that Grande was unable to fulfill the physical expectations of her job. Grande then filed a lawsuit against Saint Clare's, alleging that her termination violated the state's Law Against Discrimination, in part because of the hospital's perception of her disability.
In 2013, Morris County Superior Court Judge Thomas Manahan dismissed the suit on summary judgment, agreeing with Saint Clare's that Grande had failed to provide sufficient proofs to demonstrate that she could perform her job, and that Saint Clare's had the right to dismiss an employee who could not physically fulfill job requirements.