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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF MARYLAND ROBERT J. MARTELL, Plaintiff v. SPARROWS POINT SCRAP PROCESSING, LLC, Defendant : : : : : : : : ...o0o...

Civil No. AMD 01-1264

MEMORANDUM During his childhood in the 1960s, plaintiff Robert J. Martell suffered a loss of hearing; today he uses hearing aids in both ears. Happily, by his own admission, Martell has regained significant auditory function, e.g., he does not require the use of a hearing aid to communicate by telephone, and according to his audiologist, he enjoys "excellent benefit" from the use of the hearing aids. In March 2000, Martell applied for a job as a crane operator with defendant Sparrows Point Scrap Processing, LLC. After initial pre-employment screening, which included an in-person interview (during which Martell wore his hearing aids), Sparrows Point offered the job to Martell subject to a physical examination. Ultimately, after the physical examination (Martell's hearing having been described as "abnormal"), Sparrows Point withdrew the job offer on the ground that Martell's hearing impairment, even as largely corrected through the use of hearing aids, would pose a significant danger to himself and others in the performance of the essential functions of the job of crane operator in the industrial setting prevailing at the Sparrows Point facility, e.g., noisy environments requiring the use of mobile communication devices in the cab of overhead cranes.

Martell timely exhausted his administrative remedies and filed this lawsuit seeking damages based on, inter alia, the employment provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act, 42 U.S.C.

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