Something in the air – Employee’s perfume prompts ADA dispute

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Abstract: Was an employee who suffered a severe lifelong sensitivity to perfume disabled under the Americans with Disabilities Act? A federal trial court found that she had shown sufficient evidence of significantly restricted ability to breathe as compared to the average person so that a trial was necessary to resolve whether she was disabled under the ADA. The court also held that the employer was required to engage in an interactive process to determine an appropriate accommodation. McBride v. City of Detroit, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 87391 (E.D. Mich. 2007)