Miller v. Santa Clara County Library

MEMORANDUM

This case involves a claim that the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”), applies to disabled persons placed in job training programs and turns on whether the plaintiff-appellant’s ward is a “qualified” person within the meaning of the Act. The plaintiff-appellant in this case, Janet Miller (“Miller”), alleges that the Santa Clara County Library (“Library”) violated Title I of the ADA by failing to reasonably accommodate her son, who briefly worked at two branches of the Library while participating in a federally-funded summer jobs program during the summer of 1996. The district court granted summary judgment for the Library on the ground that Miller failed to present a prima facie case under the ADA. We affirm.

*763 i.

Janet Miller is the conservator for her son, Jamie, who was born with Down’s syndrome. His primary disabilities are sensory overload, auditory processing and retention deficiencies, and an expressive language deficit.

During the summers of 1995-98, Jamie participated in the federally-funded Summer Youth Employment and Training Program (“SYETP” or “the Program”) in Sunnyvale, California. SYETP provides training classes and job experience and…