Working for a government contractor can add wrinkles to employment disputes. This case illustrates the point. Seaborn Health Care provided phlebotomy services at Lackland Air Force Base. Overton was a Seaborn employee onsite at Lackland, where she drew blood and checked patients in using a computer system. Slip op. at 1. She worked directly under the supervision of two sergeants and without any Seaborn supervisor onsite. Id. Overton developed tennis elbow, which she believed was caused by repeatedly drawing blood. After the injury flared up a second time, she was released to work, but limited to drawing blood for no more than two hours. Id. at 2. A feud erupted when one of the sergeants interpreted the restrictions to mean Overton was to return home after the two hours of work and the sergeant exercised her contractual right to prohibit Seaborn from using Overton at Lackland. Id. Seaborn then terminated Overton. Id. at 3.
The District Court concluded that her claims under the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act of 2008 and section 451 of the Texas Worker’s Compensation Act failed because (a) there was no evidence that Seaborn refused any requested accommodation, (b) the accommodation she cited during the litigation (checking patients in and training students) was not reasonable because it would have violated her doctor’s restrictions and shifted more work to others, (c) there was no evidence of disability discrimination, and (d) Overton’s confrontation with the Lackland personnel was a legitimate, non-discriminatory reason for terminating her. Id. at 8-12. Therefore, the District Court entered summary judgment against Overton. Id. at 13.