Is Body Odor Really a Protected Disability?

John Krautzel
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A lawsuit filed in Indianapolis federal court in December 2017 alleges that a woman working for the magistrate court was wrongfully terminated. Amber Bridges used air fresheners to solve the problem of someone else's body odor, but she may have unknowingly created a legal conundrum regarding a protected disability in the workplace.

The Situation

Bridges was a team lead employed from 2010 to May 2017. She decided to use air fresheners and encouraged other employees to do so because of a co-worker's body odor. The co-worker complained and alleged that Bridges created a hostile work environment. The hostile work environment had nothing to do with rudeness but instead had to do with Bridges supposedly discriminating against and singling out one particular employee.

Bridges is suing the city of Indianapolis because she claims she was fired due to her association with an individual with a protected disability. Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, someone with a disability should receive a reasonable accommodation to work.

What Is a Protected Disability?

A protected disability is one in which an employee deserves accommodation at the workplace due to having a history of a substantial impairment that limits a major life activity. This activity could be hearing, speaking, talking, walking or performing manual tasks. A workplace must accommodate someone with a disability, according to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

The EEOC does regard foul odor as a protected disability, but it's unclear if the person in the lawsuit has such a disability. Bridges claims she was discriminated against because the workplace did not make a reasonable accommodation for the person with the odor problem.

What Should Have Happened Before the Lawsuit?

Complaints of the co-worker's odor started in December 2016, and the smelly employee filed a complaint against Bridges in May 2017. Instead of taking matters into her own hands with air fresheners and creating a hostile work environment, Bridges should have gone to human resources to resolve the matter. HR staffers would have delicately talked to the employee about a reasonable accommodation through a back-and-forth negotiation.

HR could also find out if the employee has a physical limitation or if the odor simply came from bad hygiene. Air fresheners, as suggested by Bridges, could be a part of the solution but not the only one. The employee might work in an office with air purifiers or take a position that limits contact with people. A private office might be a reasonable accommodation if the person doesn't have to maintain regular contact with the public.

No matter how the lawsuit turns out, Bridges had a negative attitude that caused a rift in the workplace. Rather than handle it through official channels, Bridges became passive-aggressive by using air fresheners instead of having conversations. The attitude led to poor team morale, and now the magistrate court must endure a lengthy litigation process in federal court.

The EEOC does consider a person's foul odor as a protected disability, but Bridges would have to prove that her former co-worker does have that disability. Lawsuits alleging discrimination based on another person's disability are actually common when people seek protections from termination due to companies not following procedures.


Photo courtesy of imagerymajestic at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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  • Nancy Anderson
    Nancy Anderson

    @Susan N. thanks for your follow-up, It's truly a shame. But it doesn't sound as if this is a protected disability - just a dirty person. Her supervisor should take her aside and counsel her - formally. Have the issues written down and have her sign it. Tell her that she has a certain amount of time to clean up her act or she will be let go. Then the supervisor needs to follow up and offer assistance if needed. I can remember a time, during my Navy days, when a young man came into the office to sign his discharge evaluation. As soon as he walked in, it was like this green funk came over the office. The sailor who went up to the counter to take care of him was only there for about a minute. When she walked away, her face had a greenish tint. I went up to the counter to find out what was going on and started to gag. Told him to stand outside of the office. Then I went in to speak with my boss to let him know what we was going on. We called the guy's supervisor up to the main building. When he got there, we took him into the office and explained the situation. Long story short, a few of his co-workers took him in hand. They went to his room in the barracks and had everything he owned thrown into the washer or into the trash. They put him in the shower and scrubbed him down. By the time everything was said and done, it was too late to process him out that day so we got a one day extension. It's funny to tell the story now but it wasn't funny when it happened. That was just one very short stint with those smells. Bottom line - her supervisor needs to take action now.

  • Susan N.
    Susan N.

    AArrgghh. Keep hitting wrong key. Kitty was dirty. Her clothes smelled and she smelled from all the cats in her home. She was a breeder and had far more cats than the city allowed. Neighbors had called and called, but not much was done. When Kitty brought food into work for parties, people would ask to see which was hers. If it was still sealed from a store, it was shared, but not any other way. We found cat hair in the department's refrigerator from her own lunch bags.

  • Susan N.
    Susan N.

    I had mentioned to the supervisor time and again about her cat odor and her own body odor (sorry folks, but true) when she went into the bathroom. Nothing was done. It was so bad if we other coworkers saw Kitty go into the bathroom, we would warn one another. Coworkers then went to another restroom.

  • Susan N.
    Susan N.

    Katherine was her name, but went by Kitty. She worked down a long hallway (the hallway to the building) from me. My supervisor was waiting to see when Kitty got to work for the Monday morning meeting and was in my office. I walked out into the hallway, took and breath, walked back in and said Kitty is here. I could smell her.

  • Nancy Anderson
    Nancy Anderson

    @Susan N - thanks for your comment. I had to laugh - sorry. I know it wasn't funny for you but really - Kitty?! Did you know her real name? It's a shame that her physician didn't take the time to find out the real issue and to tell her to clean up her act of he would send the health department to her home. I would be livid if I got fleas from a co-worker. Moving her to another office only pushes the problem on that physician instead of resolving it. To me it's really sad to see manager's do this. They are busy and don't want to take the time to resolve issues so they just push it off onto someone else. The physician should be held accountable for his employees. Hopefully her new physician will take some concrete action.

  • Susan N.
    Susan N.

    Sorry! Hit wrong button. We worked for physicians and only when Kitty's physician had a guest in his office, the guest made a complaint about the odor. Her physician later chewed her out about the stench and she moved to a different office.

  • Susan N.
    Susan N.

    Had to deal with one woman and the smell of all things cat on her. There were many complaints made by the staff, but not much happened. I walked into a small room with the copier in it. She was using it so I had to wait. Found myself looking at her feet. Corrected myself, I thought, but still found myself looking at her feet. Finally I realized I was looking at her feet because the stench of cat crap was so bad, I must have thought she had stepped in some and had it on her shoes. A woman (without much of a sense of smell) worked in the same area with her. She found herself with flea bites and she had no pets. Kitty (she actually used this name) did have fleas in her home.

  • Hendrick Y.
    Hendrick Y.

    One coworker at Ontrac in Fremont, Ca. had an similar issue. My speculation to others that Brian wasn't scrubbing down while he bath or showering away. Many had complained about him. I've took it in an moral issue that the guy was just being bad towards others. When one of the shift leads had took the matter to upper management, the body odor of Brian had suddenly subsided. What a laugh!

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