In a recent “work from home” decision by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, the court denied Sneaker Villa, Inc.’s, (the employer) motion for summary judgment. Slayton v. Sneaker Villa, Inc. Why is that important? In employment discrimination lawsuits, an employer’s earliest opportunity to have a case dismissed without the cost and risk of a jury trial is with a summary judgment motion. If the motion is denied, the case is headed for trial. The risks go up, the costs go up and, typically, so do the plaintiff’s settlement demands. In this case, the court decided that the question of whether the employer should have allowed work from home as a reasonable accommodation should be decided by a jury. The case is a reminder that an employer can jump too quickly to the conclusion that a request for a work from home assignment cannot be accommodated.

What happened?

The employee, Ms. Slayton, suffered fractured vertebrae and head trauma in a bus accident. After approximately two months of short-term disability leave, Ms. Slaton asked to return to her job as a corporate recruiter with the accommodation of working from home for four weeks, or until her physical therapy was completed. The employer denied the request to work from home and said that Ms. Slayton’s job would have to be filled because of the critical recruiting period that the employer was about to enter.
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