Andrea Tumbleson, an art teacher at Lakota Local School District for over 20 years, suffers from Usher syndrome, a rare genetic disease that has caused progressive hearing and vision loss. Despite her disabilities, she has excelled in her role, with human resources executive Rob Kramer describing her work as a "wonderful job" with "positive evaluations."
Tumbleson sought to use paid sick leave to attend a mandatory three-week training course for a guide dog named Henry. The district denied the request for paid leave, determining the training did not qualify as a "personal illness" under its policy. Instead, it granted her unpaid leave as an ADA accommodation.
Tumbleson sued, alleging the denial violated the ADA’s ban on disability discrimination and its requirement for reasonable accommodations. She also claimed a violation of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). The district court granted summary judgment for Lakota, and the 6th Circuit agreed.
The panel rejected Tumbleson’s disparate-treatment claim, finding she lacked evidence that the district treated nondisabled employees more favorably. Tumbleson argued that human resources director Marc Kramer routinely granted sick leave to other teachers without formalities, but the record showed he only bypassed formal review for short absences of less than 10 days. Tumbleson’s initial five-day training had been approved as paid sick leave under that rule; her subsequent three-week request triggered a formal review that deemed it ineligible.
On the failure-to-accommodate claim, the 6th Circuit clarified that the ADA does not require an employer to provide an employee’s preferred accommodation if a reasonable alternative exists. The court noted that unpaid leave allowed Tumbleson to complete the training and perform her job duties.
"The employer has 'discretion' to choose from among alternative reasonable accommodations if they all will permit the employee to perform the job," the opinion stated, citing Sixth Circuit precedent. "The employer thus may pick an accommodation that is 'less expensive' or 'easier' to implement when given the choice between two reasonable accommodations."
Tumbleson argued that unpaid leave caused financial hardship, but the court held that such difficulties arose "outside the work environment" and were not relevant to the reasonableness calculus under the ADA.
The court also dismissed Tumbleson’s FMLA claim, noting that while the law allows employees to substitute accrued paid leave for unpaid FMLA leave, it does not require employers to provide paid leave in situations where they would not "normally" provide it. The district’s policy defined sick leave as being for "personal illness," and the court found the guide-dog training fell outside that definition.
The opinion flagged unresolved questions regarding the causal connection required between a serious health condition and an inability to work under the FMLA, noting the parties did not brief the issue. It also noted Tumbleson forfeited an argument that her disease was the "but for" cause of her absence by failing to raise it below.
Tumbleson’s attorney, Marc D. Mezibov, represented the appellant. John C. Albert of Amundsen Davis represented the district.
The panel included Judges Amul Thapar, John Bush, and Amy Coney Barrett appointee Amy Coney Barrett? No, the opinion lists Judges Thapar, Bush, and Murphy. Judge Murphy authored the opinion.