Kroll v. White Lake Ambulance Authority

Emily Kroll (plaintiff) was an emergency medical technician for White Lake Ambulance Authority (White Lake) (defendant). During her employment, Kroll began an affair with a married coworker. Kroll frequently argued with the coworker over the phone and through texts, and Kroll’s coworkers saw her crying after many shifts due to the affair. During a shift, Kroll argued with her shift partner about the affair and refused to assist her partner in administering care to a patient. Kroll’s shift partner reported the incident to Brian Binns, White Lake’s director. In addition to this report, Binns knew of only one other incident of poor performance by Kroll involving phone usage while operating an ambulance. Binns met with Kroll and required her to seek mental-health counseling. Binns stated that the counseling was for Kroll’s immoral personal behavior, and Binns did not consult any medical or psychological professionals before deciding on Kroll’s forced counseling. Kroll filed suit in federal district court, arguing that White Lake violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by requiring her to submit to a medical examination that was not job related or a business necessity for White Lake. White Lake moved for summary judgment, arguing that counseling did not constitute a medical examination, and the motion was granted. Kroll appealed to the Sixth Circuit, which reversed the ruling and remanded the case, finding that counseling was a form of medical examination. On remand, the district court again granted summary judgment for White Lake, finding that the counseling requirement was job related and consistent with business necessity. Kroll again appealed to the Sixth Circuit.