When a disabled employee requests an accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act, this triggers an interactive process whereby both parties share information and work to determine if a reasonable and effective accommodation can be identified. Last month, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals (which includes North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia) issued a decision affirming employers' ability to access employee medical information as part of this interactive process.

In Tarquinio v. Johns Hopkins Univ. Applied Physics Laboratory, rules issued during the COVID-19 pandemic required federal contractors to mandate employee vaccinations in the absence of religious or medical objections. The plaintiff requested a medical exemption from the vaccination requirement, citing her Lyme disease diagnosis as the basis for the request. However, the employer noted that the diagnosis was nine years old, and that Lyme disease was not a known contraindication for the COVID-19 vaccine. It requested the employee’s current medical records to determine why the vaccine posed a health threat. She refused this request, instead claiming that her doctor strongly advised against her obtaining the vaccination, and offering a combination of COVID-19 testing and remote work as an acceptable compromise. The employer denied the exemption request and terminated her for failure to obtain the vaccination. She sued, claiming failure to provide reasonable accommodation under the ADA.

The Fourth Circuit affirmed dismissal of the suit on summary judgment. The courts used this case as an opportunity to better explain employees' obligations to participate in the ADA accommodation process. Employers have the right to confirm their legal obligation to provide accommodations. In order to understand this duty, they can ask for information that demonstrates that the employee’s medical condition limits them in a manner requiring accommodation.

In this case, given the age of the diagnosis and the lack of contraindications, access to the employee’s medical records was necessary to make this determination. The employee’s refusal to comply with this request meant that the employer had no duty to further provide accommodations. When requesting information from employees in response to an ADA accommodation request, employers should clearly explain the reasons for the request, as well as the consequences of failing to comply.

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