Associational Discrimination Under the ADA: What Employers Need to Know

When a deputy warden sued after being passed over for promotion, alleging her husband’s serious illness led to discrimination, the Eleventh Circuit rejected her ADA claim, emphasizing that associational disability claims require a strong causal link.

The deputy warden alleged she was denied a promotion because of her husband’s serious illness. In support, she pointed to a remark made by a supervisor about needing to “lay off of” her due to her husband’s illness as evidence that her caregiving responsibilities were a concern. Meanwhile, the employer produced evidence that a structured evaluation process was in place, which included interview scores and qualifications that objectively demonstrated the selected candidate was more qualified.

Associational Discrimination – What the ADA Protects and Doesn’t Protect

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) prohibits employers from discriminating because of a known disability of an individual with whom the employee is known to have a relationship or association. Typically, that person could be a spouse, child, or roommate. However, this provision of the ADA does not require employers to accommodate employees based on someone else’s disability. What that means is that although an employer may not lawfully fire someone because their spouse is ill, an employer is not required to grant an employee schedule changes or light duty to help with the caregiving.

Associational Discrimination – Common Illustrations

• Expense-based bias: Occurs when an employer fears an employee’s family member will generate costly health care claims under the company-sponsored insurance plan.
• Disability by association: Occurs when an employer fears an employee might contract a relative’s condition (e.g., HIV), or when an employer believes the employee is genetically predisposed to develop a hereditary disease.
• Distraction-based bias: Occurs when an employer assumes an employee will be unreliable due to caregiving responsibilities.

The Eleventh Circuit decision relates to Distraction-based bias, and the employer prevailed because it produced objective data in support of its actions. As a result, the deputy warden was not able to demonstrate a causal link to the lost promotion and her husband’s condition.

Reminders for Employers

• Remember the importance of creating and using objective criteria when making HR-related decisions.
• Train managers to avoid speculating about an employee’s personal life.
• Understand the ADA’s limits.