Eeoc v. Schneider National, Inc.

481 F.3d 507 (7th Cir. 2007)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

In 2002, Jerome Hoefner received an award from D for having driven a million miles without an avoidable accident. Shortly thereafter, Jerome had a fainting spell and was diagnosed with 'neurocardiogenic syncope.' This is a disorder of the nervous system that can produce a sudden drop in blood pressure that in turn reduces the amount of blood reaching the brain, causing the person with the disorder to faint. D's policy is not to employ a truck driver who has the disorder. The medicine used to treat it is effective but not foolproof. The medicine does not prevent a person from satisfying the safety standards required by federal law of anyone who drives, on a public highway, a truck that weighs (with its load) at least 26,001 pounds or is used to transport hazardous materials or at least 16 passengers. 49 U.S.C. § 31136(a)(3); 49 C.F.R. §§ 383.5, 391.11(a). D fired Jerome. Two years before Jerome's fainting spell another driver for D, Michael Kupsky, whom D had hired shortly after Kupsky had been diagnosed with neurocardiogenic syncope while driving for another trucking company, had driven a D truck off a bridge and been killed. D was 'advised that it appeared that [Kupsky] may have fallen asleep' at the wheel. The incident precipitated the company's adoption of a 'zero tolerance' policy for drivers with neurocardiogenic syncope. The nurse stated that 'D made the right decision after the Kupsky accident. . . . [W]e don't know what caused that accident. We'll never know. And P is not going to take the chance that. .. that horrible accident happens to anybody else.' Even if the medicine is totally efficacious, which it is not, Jerome could forget to take his medicine. The medicine merely reduces the risk of dehydration, and that is only one risk factor for neurocardiogenic syncope. The executive who fired Jerome echoed what the nurse had said: 'We simply cannot take the risk that while driving, you would lose consciousness.' Jerome obtained a similar job with another trucking company. P brought suit on Jerome's behalf contending that D had fired him because it mistakenly believed that neurocardiogenic syncope is a disabling condition within the meaning of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which among other things forbids discrimination in employment against persons mistakenly believed to be disabled. The district court granted summary judgment for D and P appealed.