Employees in the health care profession who receive discipline for sleeping on duty face high hurdles to succeed on employment discrimination claims. In Arana v. Temple University Health System, Civ. A. No. 17-525, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 74921 (E.D. Pa. May 3), the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania dismissed a lawsuit by such an employee. The court rejected the employee’s argument that her employer should have accommodated her medical conditions by allowing extended breaks, as she had not requested accommodations beyond the FMLA leave that she received.

Call Center Specialist

Wanda Arana worked in the Temple University Health System’s 24-hour call center as a call center specialist—a safety-sensitive position. Her duties included sending and receiving calls. The calls involved paging doctors, checking on patient status and general inquiries. Her most important responsibility was “STAT” calls, “which are emergency calls for urgent patient care or for security issues.” Accordingly, patients’ lives could depend on Arana’s ability to fulfill her duties.

Medical Conditions and FMLA

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