[ADA Arguments] Jolene, ABC Corporation's Human Resources Manager, Was Encountering

question 49

Multiple Choice

[ADA Arguments] Jolene, ABC Corporation's Human Resources Manager, was encountering a rush of requests under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Cindy, a receptionist, was having a birthday and turning 50. She told Jolene that, while she had not been to see a physician, she had "the blues" and needed to take every Friday off for the next few weeks to recuperate. Cindy said that while she was able to engage in her normal activities, her energy level was down. Jolene promptly denied her request on the basis that the act only applies to physical disabilities. Another employee, Zeke, asked for a private office. Jolene asked him why he needed a private office. Zeke, who had been significantly burned, replied that while nothing was physically wrong with him, he was tired of everyone treating him as if he had a disability. He said that the treatment he received from coworkers interfered with his everyday life and work activities. Jolene denied his request explaining to him that he needed an actual documented physical disability before being covered by the act. Finally, Keanu, who had undergone knee surgery, asked that Jolene put in another elevator near his workstation. Jolene explained that workstation could be moved nearer to the existing elevator, but Keanu told her that under the Americans with Disabilities Act, she did not have the right to dictate his workstation location to him. Nevertheless, Jolene denied his request for a second elevator, noting that no other employees needed a second elevator. Cindy, Zeke, and Keanu got together and decided to go directly to federal court and sue ABC Corporation under the Americans with Disabilities Act to challenge Jolene's decisions.
-Will Cindy win on a claim under the Americans with Disabilities Act?

• A) No, Cindy will lose because mental disabilities are not covered under the act.
• B) Yes, Cindy will likely win because mental disabilities are covered under the act, and she had the right to ask for anything that would help her.
• C) No, Cindy will likely lose because she has no proof of a mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of her major life activities.
• D) No, Cindy will lose unless she can establish that she has a personality disorder because that is the only type of mental disability covered by the act.
• E) No, Cindy will lose unless at least until she can establish that she has been in counseling for at least six months because that is required in order to establish a mental disability under the act.

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Definitions:

Empirical Test

A method of examination or experimentation used to validate hypotheses and theories through objective evidence and observation.

Social Structure

An organized pattern of social relationships and social institutions that compose a society, guiding and constraining individual behaviors.

Behavioral Tendencies

The habitual patterns or ways in which individuals tend to act or behave based on their personality or experiences.

Cerebral Cortex

The outer layer of the brain involved in higher-level brain functions such as thought, memory, and decision-making.