A federal appellate court has issued the amazingly reasonable decision that a man with delusional paranoia and substance abuse issues, resulting in the loss of his security clearance, was not qualified for his job as an armed security guard at a nuclear power plant, and therefore did not suffer disability discrimination when he was fired.
In McNelis v. Pennsylvania Power & Light Co., the guard had unrestricted access to the power plant and carried a firearm. He began to experience mental health problems, including paranoia that his children’s toy cars were covert listening devices, stating that he was going to kill whoever was following him, and alcohol abuse. After his wife admitted him to a psychiatric hospital, a psychologist concluded he was “not fit for duty” without further assessment and treatment, leading his employer to revoke his security access and terminate him.
He claimed disability discrimination, but the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit noted that he failed to establish that he met the essential qualifications for the job under U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission regulations: having a security clearance and being cleared medically as fit for duty.
As a result, his claim went kablooey – instead of the nuclear plant.