My father has been a local high school sports coach in some capacity for the past 25 years or so. For the last 10 years, he has been with the same school, coaching only, he is not a teacher. Many of the years he worked simply as a volunteer.
Almost one year ago, he suffered an aortic anyeurism. He survived the attack and surgery and is now in very good health. His heart specialist has told him that his heart, electrically speaking, is in great shape. Now that he has had his “tubing” replaced he does seem to be more fit than ever. He has also been smoke free since the attack, which I am sure doesn’t hurt.
ANYWAY, he was recently asked by the head softball coach if he would want to help out this spring. He said yes, but when the coach called him back he had bad news for me dear old dad. He was told by the athletic director that my dad is considered a liability because of his health.
I know my dad’s anyeurism is a huge deal, but it has been a year, and he is definitely fully recovered. I know of other coaches at this school that have had their share of health problems, so is this some sort of discrimination being practiced against my father? Where do they draw the line on how healthy someone has to be to act as a volunteer softball coach.
My dad loves coaching those kids, and this incredibly important to him. I would appreciate any sort of advice/opinions.
Very likely they draw the line where their insurance company tells them to. By all means, get a doctor’s note. Also, have him tell the school he understands their concerns and he’s happy to get a physical to ensure he won’t be an insurance liability for them. Emphasize that in many ways he’s in better health now than he was previously. He’s stopped smoking for example.
If he follows these steps, and they continue to assert that he is a liability, does he have any recourse? Would any of these issues fall under the Americans with Disabilities Act?
Well, if it were me, I’d stay away from the ADA angle, in fact as I said, I’d go the other direction and emphasize how fit he were. Claiming to be disabled for a job that requires physical ability when you don’t actually believe you’re disabled strikes me as a less than moral course. I can’t speak for what’s legal though.
I wasn’t clear; is your dad doing this purely as a volunteer for the enjoyment of it? If this current job falls through, there are lots of other similar volunteer opportunities for a man of his talents and experience. Put some calls into the city. Alternatively, there are lots of small private companies that provide sports leagues, events and classes. He could apply for a job there.
In my non-lawyerly opinion your dad’s not been illegally discriminated against either because of age or disability. The stated reason for his being refused as a volunteer is his potential health problems, and nothing you’ve said so far indicates that this is untrue and that the real reason is because of his age. As far as the ADA is concerned, he doesn’t have a qualifying disability based on what you’ve said. The EEOC explains that to qualify he would either have to have a “physical or mental impairment” or a history of such an impairment that “substantially limits one or more major life activities.” If he is fully recovered and is in better health than he was before the incident, I don’t think the ADA would apply.
I think it’s because your dad suffered a major cardiovascular event (one that frequently fatal - bravo for him on his survival and recovery) and after such an event organizations are a lot less likely to take someone on.
And yes, there may be lawyers involved - the organization’s insurance might forbid someone with cardiovascular disease of that magnitude from participating, or fear that if he dies on the job his heirs will sue, or if he drops dead in front of the kids their parents will sue because of the mental trauma such a scene would impose on their kids.
Yes, your dad probably is in better health now than before, and less likely to drop dead. However, the rules weren’t written to benefit him, nor do they take into consideration that your dad has fully recovered - they’re usually written with an eye to the worst-case scenario.
Or it may not be lawyers and rules… a lot of people still believe that someone with the least little heart defect or trouble should avoid sports entirely and just take it easy.
If he can find out the underlying concern or objection, and if it’s something he can do something about, he might be able to get the job. But if it’s a matter of how an insurance policy is written I’m sorry, that position may be unavailable for good.
I agree, though, that there are other volunteer opportunities out there he should seek out if he’s interested in that sort of thing.
Thanks to all of you for your help, I think I have a much clearer picture of how to approach the situation now.
I know there are other opportunities out there, but he has given 11 years of his life to this particular school, and he has lived in the community for about 25 years. He wants to stay there, not anywhere else.