Major Shareholder Was An "Employee" For ADA Purposes

Randy Trainor sued his former employer, Apollo Metal Specialties, Inc., and Apollo's majority stockholder, Danny Pilgrim, alleging disability employment discrimination in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The district court granted defendants' motion for summary judgment, ruling that Apollo was not an employer covered by the ADA because it did not have fifteen or more employees in each of twenty calendar weeks during the relevant period as required by 42 U.S.C. § 12111(5)(A). The district court declined to count Pilgrim as an employee for ADA jurisdictional purposes.

It was undisputed that Pilgrim and his wife owned in equal shares all the stock of Apollo, that Mr. Pilgrim performed services for Apollo, and that Apollo paid him a salary for those services. Mr. Pilgrim was thus both an owner of Apollo and a participant in a traditional employment relationship with the corporation. The district court held that it would not be appropriate to classify Mr. Pilgrim as "an owner, proprietor, officer, director, manager, and employee, despite the fact that he performs some of the duties of an employee."

Trainor appealed the dismissal of his suit arguing, among other things, that Pilgrim should have been considered an "employee" when deciding whether Apollo was subject to the ADA. In reversing the district court, the 10th Circuit accepted that argument.

Trainor v. Apollo Metal Specialties Inc.

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The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals' jurisdiction includes Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Utah and Wyoming.