Upon learning of her disability, Burrell said, Cohen's supervisors reduced her caseload, sent her on assignments with other caseworkers and paid for her to take taxis instead of having to drive.
The county offered Cohen a desk job in October 1999, but she declined to take it because she said her illness made it difficult for her to use a computer, Burrell said. The county then created a full-time position for Cohen, where she could sit at a desk, in February 2000.
Susan Cohen sought a desk job after learning she had multiple sclerosis.
(Rich Lipski -- The Washington Post)
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Cohen sued the county in August 2001, alleging that it took too long to find her a suitable desk job.
The next month, Montgomery Circuit Court Judge Nelson W. Rupp tossed out the suit because, according to court documents, Cohen had already been reassigned to a desk job.
Cohen appealed to the state Court of Special Appeals, which in 2003 ruled in her favor. The appeals court sent the case back to a lower court and, according to the AARP, effectively set a legal standard requiring employers in Maryland to act quickly when disabled employees request a modified assignment.
"The principle issue before us is whether an accommodation for a disabled employee is reasonable if it [is] granted after an unreasonable delay," the court wrote in its opinion. "In other words, is an accommodation delayed an accommodation denied?"
The trial, which will begin today in Montgomery County Circuit Court, is expected to last up to a week. Cohen -- who still works for the county Department of Health and Human Services, which includes Aging and Disability Services -- is seeking a nonspecific monetary award and a judgment directing the county to not discriminate against her.
"If the county cannot abide by the [Americans With Disabilities Act], then there is no hope anyone can," Cohen said. "I want to hold them accountable."
