A firefighter with Parkinson's lost her health benefits. Supreme Court weighs if she can sue

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Source: USA Today

Published 5:05 a.m. ET Jan. 12, 2025 | Updated 5:05 a.m. ET Jan. 12, 2025


WASHINGTON − When Karyn Stanley retired early from firefighting in 2018, she expected most of her health insurance to be covered under the original terms of her job. But Stanley said she discovered the city of Sanford, Fla., had changed its policy for those leaving because of a disability, such as Stanley’s debilitating Parkinson disease.

Rather than receiving an approximately $1,000 monthly insurance subsidy until she turned 65, the 47-year-old was cut off after two years. When Stanley tried to sue the city using a federal law created in 1990 to protect people with disabilities from discrimination, a federal appeals court said the Americans with Disabilities Act doesn’t cover former employees. On Monday, the Supreme Court will debate whether it does.

The AARP said the court’s decision will affect millions of older Americans who retire because of a disability and could be denied equal access to health insurance benefits when they need them most. Stanley also has the backing of the Justice Department, which is joining her lawyers in arguing on her behalf in Monday’s oral arguments. But business groups and associations representing cities and counties said that if the Supreme Court sides with Stanley, the cost of offering post-employment health insurance will increase, making it less likely employers will continue to offer it.

The Americans with Disabilities Act was designed to ensure that current employees and job applicants aren't discriminated against, not to regulate employers' relationships with former employees, they argue. The Social Security Administration predicts that more than one in four current 20-year-olds will become disabled before reaching retirement.

Read more: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/01/12/supreme-court-americans-with-disabilities-act-retirees/77491061007/