An employee's inability to sit now constitutes a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act, according to a recent decision by the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals, reversing a lower court ruling.
The employee in this case had sustained a spinal injury from a fall and was unable to sit for prolonged periods. Following a dispute with her employer over her requests for workplace accommodations such as a special chair, the employee was terminated.
The Court in its decision noted that the determination of whether an impairment "substantially limits a major life activity [under the ADA] involves several factors" and wrote that the "inability to sit for even a prolonged period of time may be a disability depending on the totality of circumstances."