Willis

We must consider for the first time whether the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”), 42 U.S.C. §§ 12101-12213 , requires an employer to violate the seniority provisions of a collective bargaining agreement to accommodate a disabled employee. We affirm because we conclude that such an accommodation would be per se unreasonable where, as here, the collective bargaining agreement contains bona fide seniority provisions.

I

Appellants David Willis (“Willis”) and Paul Gomez (“Gomez”) are both longshore workers who worked on the docks in the San Francisco Bay area. They are members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (“ILWU”). 1 The International Long-shore and Warehouse Union, Local 10 (“Local 10”) represents longshore workers. The International Longshore and Warehouse Union, Local 34 (“Local 34”) represents marine clerks. The ILWU and its local unions are parties to a collective bargaining agreement (“CBA”) with the Pacific Maritime Association (“PMA”), an association of the area’s main employers of dockworkers. Because the work for each employer is sporadic, the PMA and the ILWU and its locals have established a system through collective bargaining by which the…