Berger v. U.S. Department of Commerce

Background

Trent Berger filed this action on December 2, 2022. His amended complaint asserted discrimination and retaliation claims under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), 42 U.S.C. § 12111(8), and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. The defendants moved for summary judgment on both claims. Summary judgment is a decision without a trial when the court determines that the relevant facts do not require a trial.

Report and Recommendation

On March 27, 2025, Judge Stewart Aaron issued a report and recommendation on the motion. The report recommended granting the motion as to Berger’s ADA claim because federal employees have no remedy for employment discrimination under the ADA.

The report recommended denying summary judgment on Berger’s Rehabilitation Act claims. It identified genuine disputes of material fact concerning Berger’s accommodation requests, the accommodations the defendants granted, whether Berger could perform his essential job functions with reasonable accommodation, and whether the defendants acted with retaliatory intent. A genuine dispute of material fact is a factual disagreement important enough to require a trial or other fact-finding.

Review and Ruling

The court stated that no party filed an objection within the required fourteen-day period. It therefore reviewed the report and recommendation for clear error and found none. The court accepted and adopted the report and recommendation in its entirety.

Judge Gregory H. Woods ordered that the defendants’ motion for summary judgment be GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART. The ruling grants summary judgment for the defendants on the ADA claim and denies summary judgment on the Rehabilitation Act claims. The clerk was directed to terminate the pending motion.