Hate Speech, Should It Be Regulated?

In the case of Kroll v. White Lake Ambulance Authority, the legal issues are that Emily Kroll was utilizing a cell phone while operating the company ambulance. It could also pose legal issues when Kroll’s supervisor, Brian Binns, suggested to Kroll that she enroll in counseling for her “mental health issues” in order to retain her jobs as an emergency medical technician for White Lake Ambulance Authority (WLLA). The appellate court decided that WLLA was correct in ordering Kroll counseling under “medical examination” under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). However, the court never reached a holding on this case because stating that counseling was related to the job while also being consistent with the necessity of business, WLLA’s actions were more than likely not done in a discriminatory manner. With these reasons, the court remanded the case to the District Court do they could determine if the counseling was in fact a “business necessity”, and “job related”.

A medical examination is, “Any procedure or test that seeks information about an individual’s impairments or health.” The EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) uses certain factors to determent whether or not a procedure constitutes a “medical examination” under the ADA. These factors are: test to check for use of alcohol, blood pressure screening, HIV test, genetic test, psychological test to diagnose mental illness, diagnostic procedures, and vision test from an ophthalmologist. The appeals court applies these factors by using the psychological test to determine if a mental illness exists.

When ordered to go to psychological counseling, it mattered that it was for a medical examination, because the employer can try prove it was for job-related requirements and was a business necessity. However, not all psychological tests are considered “medical examinations” under the ADA. The intent of WLLA in requiring the examination does not hold