New Jersey employment lawyers should not rely on a New Jersey's worker's compensation settlement to prove that their client is disabled under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination for failure to accommodate claims.
In Megargee v. State of New Jersey Department of Human Services, App. Div. (per curiam), the plaintiff alleged that she was disabled within the meaning of the Law Against Discrimination due to a back injury incurred on the job. Plaintiff alleged that the defendant failed to afford her an accommodation under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination in 1997. The plaintiff sought to prove that she was disabled under New Jersey employment law by relying on findings in her previous worker's compensation case which was settled between the employer and employee. The trial court excluded the findings of the worker's compensation settlement. Plaintiff appealed. The appellate panel affirmed, finding the trial court did not err in excluding findings from the workers' compensation court. The appellate panel noted that the settlement had a great capacity to mislead and confuse the jury in relation to the claim that the plaintiff was disabled at the time she requested the accommodation. The settlement occurred in 1994 and the accommodation request was in 1997. The panel noted that without medical testimony as to plaintiff's condition in 1997 when the accommodation was requested, there is was no connection between the worker's compensation settlement and the 1997 request for an accommodation.
The appellate panel's finding sends a signal to New Jersey employment lawyers that in failure to accommodate cases medical testimony may be required at trial in order to prove that the plaintiff was disabled at the time the accommodation request was made.
