Fedweek Legal

After two years of negotiations, the Department of Education recently agreed to settle with Nancy Jenkins, a deaf and physically challenged former Program Analyst and attorney who worked implementing the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) in the Department’s Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services. The settlement, finalized in July 2005 and valued at approximately $200,000, required the personal approval of the Secretary of Education, Margaret Spellings.

The agency’s office dedicated to ensuring compliance with disability accommodations requirements across the country had no system in place for providing accommodations to its own employees, according to Ms. Jenkins’ Equal Employment Opportunity complaint. The complaint alleged that the Department denied Ms. Jenkins obvious reasonable accommodations for more than three years – and blocked a pre-approved promotion, after she asserted her rights – before she was ultimately forced to accept disability retirement in 2003.

Ms. Jenkins recalled, “The Department knew that I felt totally unable to do my job without accommodation, and that I was suffering and in pain without appropriate work-station furniture or an assistant. My division had many, last-minute meetings, and I missed the content because a sign-language interpreter could not be gotten in time.” After her recent settlement, Ms. Jenkins reflected, “It was ironic that my division was telling states they must provide accommodations when required by the law, but not providing their own staff with the same.”

Ms. Jenkins explained, “I saw that I was not the only one having trouble getting accommodations, so I filed my EEO complaint to make it better for future employees requesting reasonable accommodations.” Ms. Jenkins was represented by Passman & Kaplan, PC.

The Department’s actions were particularly appalling because of the hypocrisy. Ms. Jenkins just wanted to do her job, helping disabled kids – she is passionate about it, having been a disabled kid herself, and she was good at it. Yet, the Department forced her out on disability retirement rather than giving her appropriate and effective accommodations, like the opportunity to work from home when possible, on account of her degenerative autoimmune disorder.

If Ms. Jenkins had been accommodated, she would still be working, helping disabled students and their families across the country today. This is another example of a government agency’s unwillingness to abide by the laws similar to those which it administers. Telecommuting is an important means of reasonable accommodation that the federal government favors in theory but not always in practice. Disabled employees should not assume that their employers will always do the right thing and should be vigilant in protecting their rights.

* This information is provided by the attorneys at
Passman & Kaplan, P.C., a law firm dedicated to
the representation of federal employees worldwide.
For more information on Passman & Kaplan, P.C.,
go to http://www.passmanandkaplan.com.

The attorneys at Passman & Kaplan, P.C, are also
the authors of The Federal Employees Legal Survival Guide,
Second Edition
, a comprehensive overview of federal employees’
legal rights. To order your copy, go to
https://www.fedweek.com/pub/index.php