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gets Supreme Court Hearing |
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Compiled by GayToday Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund
New York, New York--On behalf of the American Public Health Association, the American
Association for the Study of Liver Disease, and several hepatitis-C education associations,
Lambda Legal is asking the United States Supreme Court to reject an employer's argument that, under
the ADA, it can fire a healthy worker with signs of liver disease because
it considers chemical exposure on the job dangerous to his future health.
On Wednesday, February 27, at 10 a.m., the U.S. Supreme Court will hear argument in Chevron U.S.A. v. Mario Echazabal. Lambda AIDS Project Director Catherine Hanssens is the author of Lambda's public health brief. "The ADA says that a person with a disability who is qualified for a job and doesn't pose a threat to anybody else has the right to work," said Hanssens. She added: "Chevron claims they denied Mr. Echazabal work for his own good, but the experts unanimously agreed that any threat of liver disease to Echazabal from chemicals in the refinery would be a danger to all employees."
"The ADA and worker safety policies require employers to safeguard the health of all of their employees," Hanssens said. "Chevron instead chooses to focus on getting rid of employees when medical screening shows some defect. Are we really supposed to think that's about protecting employees, and not about discrimination?" |
