The U.S. Chamber and Equal Employment Advisory Council urged the Ninth Circuit to reverse a district court’s decision holding that BNSF violated the ADA by revoking a conditional offer of employment after an applicant for a safety sensitive position failed to provide a current MRI and other medical information regarding a potential back condition. The district court granted summary judgment to the EEOC, holding that BNSF engaged in disability discrimination under the ADA by requiring the applicant to pay for the MRI himself and then revoking the offer when he failed to provide the MRI and other medical information.
The Chamber’s amicus brief argued that the ADA specifically allows an employer to revoke a conditional job offer based on a candidate’s refusal to comply with a lawful, post-offer pre-employment medical inquiry and does not impose an obligation on employers to pay for a candidate’s testing.
Rae T. Vann and John R. Annand of NT Lakis, LLP served as counsel for the amici.