Harry Burnett v. Eric Holder, Jr.

MEMORANDUM

Harry Burnett appeals from an order of the district court granting the government’s motion for summary judgment. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291 . After de novo review of the evidence in the light most favorable to the non-moving party, we affirm.

Burnett, a forensic chemist employed by the Drug Enforcement Agency (“DEA”), alleges that the DEA discriminated against him on the basis of disability by denying him the opportunity to attend clandestine laboratory training in 1997. Burnett, who is African-American, also alleges that the DEA discriminated against him on the basis of race by denying him the opportunity to “sit-in” for his supervisor in the supervisor’s absence.

The Rehabilitation Act prohibits federal agencies and programs receiving federal assistance from discriminating against any individual “solely by reason of her or his disability.” 29 U.S.C. § 794 (a). The Rehabilitation Act incorporates the standards for determining discrimination applied under the Americans with Disabilities Act (the “ADA”). 29 U.S.C. § 794 (d). The ADA requires employers to make “reasonable accommodations to the known physical or mental limitations of an otherwise…