San Antonio Police Candidate's Victory to Help All People with Diabetes Facing Blanket Exclusions in Employment

9/4/2002

From: Bronwyn Reynolds of the American Diabetes Association, 703-549-1500, ext. 1474

ALEXANDRIA, Va., Sept. 4 -- On Aug. 30, 2002, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that employers can no longer reject an applicant for employment based upon a diagnosis of diabetes. Rather, each person with diabetes must be treated as an individual and be judged based on what he or she is capable of doing.

The American Diabetes Association applauds this decision as a victory for all people with diabetes who face discrimination in the workplace. The Association has long taken the position that each person with diabetes should be assessed individually with regard to how diabetes affects him or her and that no blanket bans in employment are acceptable. "This case knocks down the last court-enforced blanket ban on people with diabetes in employment," said Shereen Arent, National Director of Legal Advocacy for the American Diabetes Association.

The case, Kapche v. City of San Antonio, involves Jeff Kapche, a person with type-1 diabetes. In 1994, Kapche was rejected from the position of police officer with the City of San Antonio solely because he has diabetes. San Antonio applied a blanket ban to prohibit Kapche from holding the position, arguing that people who use insulin present a safety risk in any job that involves driving.

This is the second time this case has gone to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the second time the appellate court has ruled in Kapche's favor. The Court, citing four recent decisions from the United States Supreme Court, held "an individualized assessment of Kapche's present ability to safely perform the essential functions of an SAPD police officer is required."

The Association has filed amicus (friend of the court) briefs in both appeals, briefs that figured prominently in both decisions. The Association has also provided medical expertise in the matter. "This case shows that American Diabetes Association will never give up its fight to protect the rights of people with diabetes," says Michael A. Greene, former national chair of both the national Board of Directors and the Legal Advocacy Committee and the lawyer who authored the Association's briefs.

Kapche is represented by John Griffin, Jr., a member of the American Diabetes Association's Advocacy Subcommittee and Vice-Chair of the Association's Legal Advocacy Subcommittee. "The Association is delighted by the court's ruling for we have worked hard to insure that people are evaluated on their abilities, not by the label of their diagnosis." said Griffin. He continued, "This ruling will open the doors of employment to millions of Americans who manage their diabetes with insulin. It will mean that each person must be evaluated on his or her ability to do the job."

The case now returns to the district court for the individual determination that Kapche has long sought. Kapche, who has successfully held a job as a law enforcement officer in a neighboring county while this lawsuit wound its way through the courts, is confident this individual assessment will demonstrate that he would be a fine addition to San Antonio's police force.

The American Diabetes Association is the nation's leading nonprofit health organization providing diabetes research, information and advocacy. Founded in 1940, the Association has offices in every region of the country, providing service to hundreds of communities. The mission of the organization is to prevent and cure diabetes, and to improve the lives of all people affected by diabetes.

To fulfill this mission, the Association funds research, publishes scientific findings, provides information and other services to people with diabetes, their families, health care professionals and the public and advocates for scientific research and for the rights of people with diabetes. For more information please call 1-800-DIABETES(1-800-342-2383) or visit our Web site at http://www.diabetes.org. Information from both these sources is available in English and Spanish.

The decision of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals can be accessed via this link: http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data2/circs/5th/0050588p.pdf.