Timothy Shepard v. Eric Shinseki

MEMORANDUM

Timothy Shephard appeals the decision of the district court granting summary judgment to the secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs (“VA”). We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291 , and we affirm.

Shepard, a VA employee who suffers from cognitive disabilities, was transferred between departments when his job was eliminated. He contends that the VA’s denial of his request to be transferred back to his original job constituted failure to provide a reasonable accommodation in violation of the Rehabilitation Act, 29 U.S.C, § 791. The district court granted summary judgment to the VA, finding that the sole accommodation demanded by Shepard was not, as a matter of law, a “reasonable” accommodation.

Reviewing the district court’s decision de novo and viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to Shepard, see McIndoe v. Huntington Ingalls Inc., 817 F.3d 1170, 1178 (9th Cir. 2016), we find no genuine issues of material fact and find that Shephard’s prior position no longer existed. Because the • “reasonable accommodation” requirement does not require an employer to create a new job for the disabled employee, see Wellington v. Lyon Cnty. Sch. Dist.,…