MHR 6401
Keith v. County of Oakland
Columbia Southern University
MHR 6401
Employment Law
Keith v. County of Oakland
Mr. Nicholas Keith was born in 1980 and has been deaf since birth. He communicates
using American Sign Language (ASL). He can detect noises with the aid of a cochlear implant.
When Mr. Keith was 27 years old, he enrolled in Oakland County’s lifeguard training program.
Mr. Keith successfully completed this training with the aid of an ASL interpreter to communicate
verbal instructions. Soon after completing training Mr. Keith applied for a lifeguard position at
Oakland County’s wave pool. Mr. Keith was denied employment by Oakland County and upon
further investigation into why, he sued the County of Oakland.
Legal Issues Presented in This Case
The first legal issue presented in this case is that the Oakland County discriminated
against him on the basis of disability in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA),
when it failed to hire him as a lifeguard (Walsh, 2019). One of the requirements for the position
offered to Mr. Keith was to take and pass a medical examination from a county-appointed
physician (Walsh, 2019). During this examination, Mr. Keith met with Dr. Paul Work, D.O. and
without conducting a full exam made the statement “He’s deaf; he can’t be a lifeguard”. Another
statement made by Dr. Work was “they’re not going to sue you, they’re not going to sue the
county, they’re going to come after me” (Walsh, 2019). Dr. Work is not employed by Oakland
County, but his services were paid for by Oakland County. Oakland County made an
employment decision based off his physical examination of Mr. Keith. The second issue with
Dr. Work is his personal interest was more important than Oakland County when he made the
comment about being sued. Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 prohibits
Keith v. County of Oakland
Columbia Southern University
MHR 6401
Employment Law
Keith v. County of Oakland
Mr. Nicholas Keith was born in 1980 and has been deaf since birth. He communicates
using American Sign Language (ASL). He can detect noises with the aid of a cochlear implant.
When Mr. Keith was 27 years old, he enrolled in Oakland County’s lifeguard training program.
Mr. Keith successfully completed this training with the aid of an ASL interpreter to communicate
verbal instructions. Soon after completing training Mr. Keith applied for a lifeguard position at
Oakland County’s wave pool. Mr. Keith was denied employment by Oakland County and upon
further investigation into why, he sued the County of Oakland.
Legal Issues Presented in This Case
The first legal issue presented in this case is that the Oakland County discriminated
against him on the basis of disability in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA),
when it failed to hire him as a lifeguard (Walsh, 2019). One of the requirements for the position
offered to Mr. Keith was to take and pass a medical examination from a county-appointed
physician (Walsh, 2019). During this examination, Mr. Keith met with Dr. Paul Work, D.O. and
without conducting a full exam made the statement “He’s deaf; he can’t be a lifeguard”. Another
statement made by Dr. Work was “they’re not going to sue you, they’re not going to sue the
county, they’re going to come after me” (Walsh, 2019). Dr. Work is not employed by Oakland
County, but his services were paid for by Oakland County. Oakland County made an
employment decision based off his physical examination of Mr. Keith. The second issue with
Dr. Work is his personal interest was more important than Oakland County when he made the
comment about being sued. Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 prohibits
