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Disability Law

Coca-Cola delivery man who used slurs as result of Tourette syndrome loses disability suit after job transfer

By Debra Cassens Weiss

February 21, 2024, 12:37 pm CST

A Coca-Cola delivery man whose Tourette syndrome caused him to use profanity and racial slurs when stocking customer stores was not entitled to keep that job under the Americans With Disabilities Act, a federal appeals court has ruled.

The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals at Cincinnati ruled against Tennessee driver Cameron Cooper in a Feb. 15 opinion.

HR Dive has coverage, the Volokh Conspiracy has opinion highlights, and the National Law Review has an analysis.

Under the Americans With Disabilities Act, plaintiffs must show that they are disabled. They also must show that they are otherwise qualified for their position without accommodations, with the elimination of a job requirement, or with a reasonable accommodation.

To win the ADA case, the employer then must show that the challenged job requirement is essential and a business necessity, and that any proposed accommodation would be an undue hardship.

Coca-Cola had received at least two complaints from store managers about Cooper’s profanity and racial slurs.

Coca-Cola approved two medical leaves for Cooper; adjusted his route, so that he wouldn’t have to visit Dollar General stores; and allowed him to have a seasonal position as a delivery helper. In December 2019, Coca-Cola moved Cooper to a warehouse position, with negotiated pay of $18.96 per hour instead of the $20.38 per hour that he made as a delivery driver.

Cooper had alleged that the transfer was discriminatory because he was otherwise qualified for the delivery position without an accommodation or, in the alternative, that he was qualified for the position with a reasonable accommodation—an alternative route that was not customer-facing.

The appeals court rejected the arguments in upholding a grant of summary judgment to Coca-Cola.

First, the 6th Circuit determined that “excellent customer service” was an essential function of Cooper’s position. Coca-Cola had identified “excellent customer services skills” in its written job description for Cooper’s job, and Cooper stipulated that those skills were an essential function of the position.

Next, the appeals court concluded that Cooper could not have provided excellent customer service without an accommodation.

“It is undisputed that Cooper used racial slurs, those slurs were decipherable to at least some customers, and the decipherable slurs offended customers,” the 6th Circuit said. “Cooper’s own doctor also stated that Cooper needed an accommodation to perform his job. Based on these facts, the district court did not err in finding that, as a matter of law, Cooper could not provide excellent customer service without an accommodation.”

Finally, the appeals court said Cooper did not identify a reasonable accommodation. He had sought a position that didn’t involve customer interaction, but none was available.

The National Law Review article, written by law firm Bradley Arant Boult Cummings, said the decision has a lesson for employers.

“Although the thought of updating and adding more detail to your written job descriptions may make your HR department grumble, this case demonstrates why good job descriptions are extremely important,” the article said.

“Even something that would seem to be common sense—being able to effectively relate and not offend your customers—may be the key to defending your next lawsuit. [Coca-Cola] defeated this lawsuit because it was able to point to that essential function in the job description, as well as their attempts to figure out any way to accommodate Cooper’s disability.”

A pizza delivery driver on just his second day on the job was shot and killed during a robbery attempt in Florida, authorities said.

The West Palm Beach Police Department responded to a call around 12:50 p.m. Tuesday about a shooting and found a man, later identified as Tommie Charles Anderson III, suffering from gunshot wounds to the neck and arm. Paramedics rushed him to the hospital but doctors pronounced him dead about a half-hour later.

Detectives later learned that Anderson had just delivered a pizza for Domino’s to the home where cops found him. The resident called 911 after hearing three gunshots seconds after Anderson dropped off the pizza. Police found three spent 9 mm casings near Anderson and one unfired 9 mm bullet under his body, a probable cause arrest affidavit reviewed by Law&Crime said.

Surveillance video nearby showed there was a white Honda four-door car with a dent on the driver’s side rear door and a front license plate bracket around the time of the shooting. Cops put out a be-on-the-lookout for the car. A Florida Highway Patrol trooper stopped the car later Monday afternoon. Three people were in the car: Elijsha Wingfield, 25, Marcus Williams, 29, and Avianna Kerr-Williams, 29. They were taken into custody for interviews. Police also recovered a 9 mm handgun and two rifles from the car, the affidavit said.

All three gave a similar account of what happened. Williams said the trio was driving around when Wingfield said he wanted to rob someone, according to the affidavit. They saw the pizza delivery driver and Wingfield allegedly said “Let’s see what he’s got.”

Wingfield got out of the car armed with a handgun, Williams told investigators. Williams said he got out armed with an AR-15 rifle to “back up” Wingfield.

Anderson was walking to the car when the two suspects ran up to him. Wingfield allegedly said “I ain’t playing with you, this ain’t a game!” and Anderson threw his hands up in surrender. Williams told detectives Anderson said “I have one of those too” and reached for his pocket. Williams saw Anderson didn’t have a gun so he didn’t shoot but Wingfield allegedly fired three times, the affidavit said.

Anderson grabbed his neck and fell to the ground. The two suspects ran back to their car and Kerr-Williams drove away, detectives wrote in the affidavit.

Wingfield allegedly said he was in need of money since the paycheck he was expecting never came. He told detectives how he had to eject a live bullet from the gun after it jammed. Later in the interview, Wingfield put his head down and reportedly said “I really f—ed up my life.”

All three are now facing first-degree murder charges. They are at the Palm Beach County Jail without bond.

Anderson’s father told local NBC affiliate WPTV that his son has two kids ages 6 and 13. He worked two jobs to support them and it was only Anderson’s second day as a pizza delivery driver, his father said.

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A 33-year-old man in Georgia was arrested last week after he allegedly dressed up like a delivery driver to lure his ex-girlfriend’s new boyfriend out of his apartment on his birthday, and then gunned him down in what authorities called a “preplanned, premeditated” attack.

Donovan Carter was taken into custody on Wednesday following a multiagency manhunt and charged with one count each of murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime in the slaying of 40-year-old Kenneth Cunningham, authorities announced.

According to a press release from the Marietta Police Department, officers at about 10:30 a.m. on Jan. 3 responded to reports of a shooting outside of an apartment complex in the 2100 block of Cobb Parkway South. Upon arriving at the scene, first responders located a male victim on the ground just outside the apartment complex suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. The victim, later identified as Cunningham, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Investigators quickly discovered that Cunningham was a resident of the apartment building and had just exited the building when he was fatally shot.

Shortly after the shooting, officers from the Cobb County Police Department, the Smyrna Police Department, and deputies from the Cobb County Sheriff’s Office all responded to the scene to assist in the investigation.