District Court granted Petersen's motion for summary judgment, holding that pushing wheelchairs was essential part of Kauffman's job, and that no reasonable accommodation would enable her to perform her job.
The Seventh Circuit reversed and remanded. It noted that pushing wheelchairs was only small part of Kauffman's job in terms of time spent, therefore, a question remained as to whether the employer could reasonably accommodate Kauffman's request that her co-worker push her wheelchairs. Furthermore, Petersen's position that it would not accommodate anyone with permanent restriction does not excuse it from making any attempt to accommodate it.