Request for location transfer may be valid accommodation

In general, Massachusetts law doesn’t require an employer to offer an employee a transfer to a different vacant position as an accommodation under M.G.L. c. 151B, which is like its federal counterpart, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). But what about a transfer to the same position, just at a different location for the same employer?

That was the question hotly debated in a recent case. The court found the employer may have had a duty to offer a transfer to an identical vacant position at another location upon an employee’s return from leave as an accommodation, leaving the matter open for a jury to decide whether it had discriminated against him based on his disability.

Background

Michael Morrill had worked for Lowe’s in Dedham for 14 years. Initially, he started his career as a department manager, and in August 2017, he was promoted to assistant store manager.

Before he could complete the training for that role, Morrill took a year of leave (Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) leave and an approved leave of absence) for medical complications related to sleep apnea and a preexisting back injury. In August 2018, when he informed Lowe’s he was ready to return to work, he told the company he wished to return in the same role—assistant store manager—but on a reduced schedule.