An employee who was terminated by a financially struggling company because of the “staggering” medical expenses incurred by her terminally ill spouse should be allowed to present her case to a jury, rules the Seventh Circuit. Under the “association discrimination” section of the Americans with Disabilities Act, an employer is prohibited from discriminating against an employee as a result of the employee’s relationship with a disabled individual.

The Court finds that the company, which had a self-insured health plan, was very concerned about cutting its costs, and “personally felt the heavy bite” of the spouse’s expensive treatments. The Court says that because the claimant had established that direct evidence of “association discrimination” may have motivated the company to terminate her, a jury should be allowed to consider her claim. In a concurring opinion, Judge Posner clarified that “if the disability plays no role in the employer’s decision—if he would discriminate against any employee whose spouse or dependent ran up a big medical bill—then there is no disability discrimination.” Since the company did not raise the cost argument, reversal was proper, Judge Posner says. Dewitt v. Proctor Hospital