Employee Transfers May Subject Employers to 'Adverse Actions': Fourth Circuit Provides Guidance

A recent decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit considered whether an employer subjected an employee to an "adverse action" when the employer granted an employee's request to transfer to a new position, a transfer that later turned out to be unsatisfactory to the employee. An adverse action is a prerequisite to an employee's claim of discrimination or retaliation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The concept of an adverse action is central to employment law even beyond the ADA. Employees' claims under other federal employee-protection statutes—including the Family and Medical Leave Act, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967—also require an adverse action.