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The Fifth Circuit has ruled that an employer may not maintain a blanket policy to deny employment to a diabetic individual that the employer's physicians characterize as “uncontrolled,” regardless of whether this individual might be able to perform the essential functions of the job at issue. Such determinations must be based upon individualized examinations. Rodriguez v. ConAgra Grocery Products Co., No. 04-11473 (Nov. 14).

A temporary employee was offered a permanent position contingent on passing a background check, drug screen and a physical examination. The employee, who had been previously diagnosed with Type II diabetes, went to a private clinic which contracts with the employer where a urinalysis revealed an elevated concentration of glucose. Based on this finding, and because the employee could not remember the name of the medication he took to control his diabetes, a clinic doctor concluded the diabetes was “uncontrolled” and that the applicant was “not medically qualified” for the position. Consequently, the job offer was withdrawn and the employee brought an employment discrimination suit. The district court granted the employer's motion to dismiss, finding that he failed to present any evidence that the job offer was withdrawn because of his diabetes. Instead, the court found that the offer was withdrawn because the employee's diabetes was “uncontrolled,” which is a critical distinction that other courts have used to conclude does not give rise to an employment discrimination claim.