Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County, Tennessee v. Beverly McMahon

Respondent was a public health nurse working in petitioner’s health department. She suffered from depression and anxiety. She asked for leave of indefinite duration. Her physician’s letter stated that it was “not possible to predict” when she could return. Petitioner wrote respondent explaining that there were unpaid leave days available under the rules but that her current request must be denied because it was for “indefinite duration.” Respondent never asked for any of the allowable unpaid leave days and never provided a return-to-work date. Instead, she resigned, stating that she “should not be working for [petitioner] at this time.” The question presented is: Whether a disabled employee who only requests indefinite leave by the time of termination is not qualified under the ADA, as a matter of law, as the First, Fifth, Eighth, Tenth, and Eleventh Circuits have concluded – or whether, in such situations, an employee’s qualification under the ADA is essentially a question of fact, as the Sixth Circuit has concluded.