Privacy Issues in the Community College Workplace

3. C ASE S TUDIES ON F ITNESS FOR D UTY E XAMINATIONS Yin v. State of California 211

A state tax auditor with a five-year history of egregious absenteeism and on-the- job illnesses sued California to enjoin the state from requiring her to undergo a fitness for duty medical examination. After years of excessive absenteeism, the supervisor requested to see a copy of the employee’s medical records. When she refused, she was asked to submit to an independent medical examination. The employee retained a lawyer and the State dropped its request. However, the absences continued and the state again demanded an independent medical examination. The employee then filed suit. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the employer’s right to require a medical examination where the exam was job-related and the record clearly indicated good cause for trying to determine whether she was able to perform her job in light of missing an excessive number of workdays. The employee’s excessive absenteeism had seriously impacted her productivity and overall job performance. In this case, Yin’s expectation of privacy was diminished and requiring her to undergo a fitness-for-duty examination would clearly further the state’s interest in assuring a productive and stable work force. Deckert v. City of Ulysses 212 An insulin-dependent diabetic police officer was properly required to submit to a fitness for duty examination where the requirement was based upon sudden poor job performance and erratic behavior by the officer. After 17-years as a police officer, the officer’s job performance suddenly plummeted. He left his patrol car unlocked, unattended and running while responding to a call, resulting in an individual parking it several blocks away. He also failed to write a required report on a domestic violence call, failed to provide backup for a building search by two other officers, and failed to lock his patrol car at the end of his shift. On the basis of these deficiencies and his inadequate investigation of a tire theft two months earlier, the police chief suspended him, demoted him from sergeant, and required him to undergo a medical exam to determine if his suddenly poor duty performance was caused by diabetes. The Court upheld the examination based on the officer’s poor performance, and the City's actions which were consistent with the ADA and sound management principles.

Privacy Issues in the Community College Workplace ©2021 (c) Liebert Cassidy Whitmore 66