3.12 C. Defenses—Direct Threat

• Library: Disability Law and Practice, Vol. 3 (NY) 2017

C. Defenses—Direct Threat

It may be a defense to a charge of discrimination that an employee or potential employer poses a direct threat to the health or safety of the employee or others.²⁷ Although the statutory definition of “direct threat” speaks in terms of posing a direct threat to others, the regulations regarding qualification standards and case authority make it clear that the “direct threat” defense also applies to posing a direct threat to one’s self.²⁸ In determining whether or not an individual...