Employer Subject to Liability for Discrimination Carried Out Under Contractual Agreement with Third Party

Fromm v. MVM, Inc., 2010 WL 1048815 (3d Cir., March 23, 2010) – The plaintiff’s employer, MVM, was under contract with the United States Marshal’s Service (USMS) to provide security in various facilities. MVM terminated the plaintiff, a court security officer, after USMS instituted new hearing standards which the plaintiff failed to meet. Although MVM urged USMS to reconsider the new standards, USMS refused. The plaintiff sued both MVM and USMS for disability discrimination.

The Third Circuit Court of Appeals found a genuine issue of material fact existed regarding whether the new hearing standards were an essential function of the plaintiff’s job, since he had been performing the job successfully for four years before they were implemented. It further found that MVM could be liable for discrimination carried out through its contractual relationship with USMS, even though USMS was dismissed from the case due to the plaintiff’s failure to exhaust administrative remedies. The case was therefore remanded for a determination of MVM’s liability.