Melvin Buckingham v. United States of America, United States Postal Service, and Anthony M. Frank, Postmaster General

Melvin Buckingham sued the Postal Service for a violation of his rights under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 29 U.S.C. §§ 701 et seq., which requires recipients of federal funds, including the Postal Service, to provide reasonable accommodation to handicapped employees. Buckingham requested a transfer from the Post Office in Columbus, Mississippi to one in Los Angeles in order to obtain better medical treatment for his disabling condition, AIDS. The Postal Service refused to transfer Buckingham, alleging that to do so would contravene the rights of other employees under a collective bargaining agreement. After exhausting his administrative remedies, Buckingham brought this suit in district court. The Postal. Service moved for summary judgment. The district court denied the motion and sua sponte entered summary, judgment for Buckingham. The Postal Service appeals the denial of its summary judgment motion and the entry of summary judgment for Buckingham. We affirm as to the denial of the Postal Service’s motion and reverse as to the. entry of judgment for Buckingham.

I. Background

Melvin Buckingham acquired HIV, the virus which causes AIDS, while working as a urology technician…

specially concurring

I concur in the opinion with the exception of Part III.D.

998 F.2d 735 62 Empl. Prac. Dec. P 42,424 , 62 USLW 2068, 2 A.D. Cases 1009 , 2 A.D.D. 532, 4 NDLR P 75 Melvin BUCKINGHAM, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. UNITED STATES of America, United States Postal Service, and Anthony M. Frank, Postmaster General, Defendants-Appellants. No. 91-56236. United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. Argued and Submitted Feb. 1, 1993. Decided July 13, 1993. John P. Schnitker, U.S. Dept. of Justice, Washington, DC, for defendants-appellants. Nick A. Alden and Stuart P. Herman, Herman & Wallach, Los Angeles, CA, for plaintiff-appellee. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Central District of California. Before: HUG, FERGUSON, and O'SCANNLAIN, Circuit Judges. FERGUSON, Circuit Judge: 1 Melvin Buckingham sued the Postal Service for a violation of his rights under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 29 U.S.C. §§ 701 et seq., which requires recipients of federal funds, including the Postal Service, to provide reasonable accommodation to handicapped employees. Buckingham requested a transfer from the Post Office in Columbus, Mississippi to one in Los Angeles in order to obtain better medical treatment for his disabling condition, AIDS.…