Shughart Thomson & Kilroy Wins Employment Case for KC Police Department

Case helps set the standard for a fitness-for-duty evaluation

Kansas City, MO-A former investigative typist has no basis for her claims alleging disability discrimination, invasion of privacy and intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress against the Kansas City Missouri Police Department. These claims arose after the Police Department asked its former employee to partake in a fitness-for-duty evaluation. On April 3, 2007, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit affirmed a lower court’s ruling granting summary judgment on all of the plaintiff’s claims, meaning the case was resolved in favor of the Department as a matter of law and there was no need for a trial. The case was appealed, and the Eighth Circuit affirmed.

Shughart Thomson & Kilroy, P.C. attorney Jim Sullivan represented the Kansas City, Missouri Police Department. “This decision is important because it establishes a very sound and understandable standard as to when an employer can require an employee to go through a fitness for duty evaluation to determine if an employee can perform the job. Employers can require such examinations when the examination is both job-related and consistent with business necessity,” said Sullivan.

A brief history:

The Kansas City Police Department asked the employee to take a fitness-for-duty evaluation after a physician told her she was experiencing job-related stress, which caused her to miss several weeks of work. She was eventually placed in the department’s sick leave pool. The employee then agreed to take a Fitness-For-Duty evaluation but then refused to provide the needed medical records. Because she was a typist for the Police Department’s  Juvenile Unit, her job performance was a public safety issue.

“The police department can ask for a fitness-for-duty evaluation. This includes when the employee reports that job-related stress is adversely effecting attendance or where a medical or psychological condition may impact the safety of the employee or the public at the work place,” said Sullivan.

About Shughart Thomson & Kilroy, P.C.
Founded in 1940, the law firm of Shughart Thomson & Kilroy, P.C. (www.stklaw.com), is a full-service, client-focused business law firm with more than 175 attorneys in six offices: Kansas City, Springfield and St. Joseph, Mo.; Overland Park, Kan.; Phoenix, Ariz., and Denver, Colo. Serving corporate, institutional and individual clients regionally, nationally and worldwide, Shughart Thomson & Kilroy is known for successfully applying forward-thinking strategies for both straightforward and complex legal matters.

Author: W. Terrance (Terry) Kilroy
Firm: Shughart Thomson & Kilroy, P.C.

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