Tamara Watson v. Lithonia Lighting & Nat'l Serv. Indus., Inc., 304 F.3d 749 (7th Cir. 2002). · Go Syfert
Tamara Watson v. Lithonia Lighting & Nat'l Serv. Indus., Inc., 304 F.3d 749 (7th Cir. 2002). Cases Citing This Book View Copy Cite
69 citation events (69 in the last 25 years) across 12 distinct courts.
Strongest positive: Delgado v. Smithfield Packaged Meats Corp. (ilnd, 2024-07-10)
Treatment trajectory · 2002 → 2026 · click a year to view as-of
2002 2014 2026
Top citers, strongest first. 37 distinct citers. How cited ↗
discussed Cited as authority (verbatim quote) Delgado v. Smithfield Packaged Meats Corp.
N.D. Ill. · 2024 · signal: see also · quote attribution · 1 verbatim quote · confidence high
the ada does not require an employer that sets aside a pool of positions for recovering employees to make those positions available indefinitely to an employee whose recovery has run its course.
examined Cited as authority (verbatim quote) Anderson v. Lawrence Hall Youth Services
N.D. Ill. · 2023 · quote attribution · 1 verbatim quote · confidence high
we conclude that the ada does not require an employer that sets aside a pool of positions for recovering employees to make those positions available indefinitely to an employee whose recovery has run its course without restoring that worker to her original healthy state.
examined Cited as authority (verbatim quote) Corrales v. Westin Hotel Management LP
N.D. Ill. · 2019 · signal: see · quote attribution · 1 verbatim quote · confidence high
the ada does not require an employer that sets aside a pool of positions for recovering employees to make those positions available indefinitely to an employee whose recovery has run its course without restoring that worker to her original healthy state.
discussed Cited as authority (rule) Ledbetter v. Freeman
S.D. Ill. · 2025 · confidence medium
On the contrary, “the ADA does not impose an obligation on employers to create a new position, which contains a subset of the duties performed by those in an existing position, for individuals with permanent impairments.” Kotwica v. Rose Packing Co., Inc., 637 F.3d 744, 750 (7th Cir. 2011) (citing Watson v. Lithonia Lighting, 304 F.3d 749, 752 (7th Cir. 2002)).
discussed Cited as authority (rule) McCarty v. Village of Lakemoor
N.D. Ill. · 2024 · confidence medium
Cir., 601 F.3d 674, 680 (7th Cir.2010) (an employer has no “duty to reassign an employee to a permanent light duty position.”) (citing Watson v. Lithonia Lighting, 304 F.3d 749, 752 (7th Cir.2002)); Swanson v. Vill. of Flossmoor, 794 F.3d 820 , 827- 828 (7th Cir. 2015) (“Moreover, even if “light duty” would have been [plaintiff’s] preferred accommodation, the ADA does not entitle a disabled employee to the accommodation of his choice.
cited Cited as authority (rule) Babnik v. The Village of Antioch
N.D. Ill. · 2023 · confidence medium
Watson v. Lithonia Lighting, 304 F.3d 749, 752 (7th Cir. 2002); Gratzl v. Office of the Chief Judges, 601 F.3d 674, 680 (7th Cir. 2010).
discussed Cited as authority (rule) Green v. Sutton Ford, Inc.
N.D. Ill. · 2022 · confidence medium
Memo. at 15 (citing Watson v. Lithonia Lighting, 304 F.3d 749, 752 (7th Cir. 2002) (rejecting the plaintiff’s argument that “if an employer [offers an accommodation], it must allow an injured employee to occupy the light-duty (or limited-task) position indefinitely[,]” because that requirement would “diminish the employer’s ability to accommodate employees who have transient conditions”)).
discussed Cited as authority (rule) Leibas v. Dart (2×)
N.D. Ill. · 2022 · confidence medium
Cirs., 601 F.3d 674, 680 (7th Cir. 2010) (“An employer need not create a new job or strip a current job of its principal duties to accommodate a disabled employee.”); Watson v. Lithonia Lighting, 304 F.3d 749, 752 (7th Cir. 2002) (holding that the ADA does not require an employee to create “a different job, comprising a subset of the [existing job’s] tasks, rather than [provide] an accommodation in the performance of” the existing job); cf. Vargas v. DeJoy, 980 F.3d 1184 , 1189 (7th Cir. 2020) (“Allowing Vargas to perform only collections would force the Postal Service to assign an…
discussed Cited as authority (rule) Downing v. Abbott Laboratories
N.D. Ill. · 2019 · confidence medium
Critically, Farmakis does not explain how he learned those things, and that violates Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56(c)(4)’s instruction that a declaration used to support a motion “must be made on personal knowledge.” See Watson v. Lithonia Lighting, 304 F.3d 749, 752 (7th Cir. 2002) (witness’s affidavit stating that she “learned” something about two employees did not establish personal knowledge because it did not explain how she learned of the fact in question); see also Rabin v. Provident Life & Acc. Ins.
discussed Cited as authority (rule) K. L. ex rel. Ladlie v. Missouri State High School Activities Ass'n
E.D. Mo. · 2016 · confidence medium
By comparison, in the employment context it is clear that the ADA does not require an employer to create a new position to accommodate an employee with a disability, Kotwica v. Rose Packing Co., 637 F.3d 744, 750 (7th Cir.2011) (“The ADA does not impose an obligation on employers to create a new position.. .for individuals with permanent impairments.”), following Watson v. Lithonia Lighting, 304 F3d 749, 752 (7th Cir.2002).
discussed Cited as authority (rule) Capeci v. City of Imperial CA4/1
Cal. Ct. App. · 2016 · confidence medium
(Watson v. Lithonia Lighting (7th Cir. 2002) 304 F.3d 749, 752 (Watson); Hoskins v. Oakland County Sheriff's Dept. (6th Cir. 2000) 227 F.3d 719, 730-731 (Hoskins); Malabarba v. Chicago Tribune Co. (7th Cir. 1998) 149 F.3d 690, 696 (Malabarba); Aldrich v. Boeing Co. (10th Cir. 1998) 146 F.3d 1265, 1271, fn. 5 ; Laurin v. Providence Hosp. (1st Cir. 1998) 150 F.3d 52, 60 (Laurin); cf. Shiring v. Runyon (3d Cir. 1996) 90 F.3d 827 [reasonable accommodation requirements of federal Rehabilitation Act applicable to federal employees did not require employer to make temporary light-duty position perman…
discussed Cited as authority (rule) Gatlin v. Village of Summit (2×) also: Cited "see"
N.D. Ill. · 2015 · confidence medium
Such positions are-“exactly what the ADA encourages;” Watson v. Lithonia Lighting, 304 F.3d 749, 752 (7th Cir.2002); see also, e.g., Hendricks-Robinson v. Excel Corp., 154 F.3d 685, 696 (7th Cir.1998).
discussed Cited as authority (rule) Gibson v. Milwaukee County
E.D. Wis. · 2015 · confidence medium
Watson v. Lithonia Lighting, 304 F.3d 749, 752 (7th Cir.2002); Hendricks-Robinson v. Excel Corp., 154 F.3d 685, 697-98 (7th Cir.1998); Dalton v. Subaru-Isuzu Automotive, Inc., 141 F.3d 667, 680 (7th Cir.1998).
cited Cited as authority (rule) McCombs v. Federal Express Corp.
N.D. Ind. · 2013 · confidence medium
The ADA “does not require employers to create new positions!.]” Watson v. Lithonia Lighting, 304 F.3d 749, 752 (7th Cir.2002).
discussed Cited as authority (rule) Teague v. Northwestern Memorial Hospital
7th Cir. · 2012 · confidence medium
Teague apparently assumes that the duty to reasonably accommodate a disability means funding — or even creating— a different job for her; not only is that assumption wrong as a matter of law, Watson v. Lithonia Lighting, 304 F.3d 749, 752 (7th Cir.2002), but Teague did not even suggest that she was qualified to do a different job at the hospital despite her asthma.
discussed Cited as authority (rule) Gloria Teague v. Northwestern Memor
7th Cir. · 2012 · confidence medium
Teague apparently assumes that the duty to reasonably accommodate a disability means funding—or even creating—a different job for her; not only is that assumption wrong as a matter of law, Watson v. Lithonia Lighting, 304 F.3d 749, 752 (7th Cir. 2002), but Teague did not even suggest that she was qualified to do a different job at the hospital despite her asthma.
discussed Cited as authority (rule) Gratzl v. Office of Chief Judges of the 12th, 18th, 19th and 22nd Judicial Circuits (2×) also: Cited "see"
7th Cir. · 2010 · confidence medium
Watson v. Lithonia Lighting, 304 F.3d 749, 752 (7th Cir.2002).
discussed Cited as authority (rule) Reginald Martin Agency, Inc. v. Conseco Medical Insurance
S.D. Ind. · 2007 · confidence medium
Plaintiffs challenge three categories of documents proffered by CMIC: (1) Michele Schlafer’s affidavit as not properly based on her personal knowledge; (2) marketing director appointment agreements as not material or relevant; and (3) excerpts from Thomas Brophy’s deposition as inadmissible hearsay. [Docket No. 147 at pp. 26-27, 36.] CMIC opposes Plaintiffs’ challenges. [Docket No. 151.] Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56(e) requires affidavits “be made on personal knowledge ... set forth such facts as would be admissible in evidence, and ... show affirmatively that the affiant is comp…
discussed Cited as authority (rule) Nunn v. Illinois State Board of Education
7th Cir. · 2006 · confidence medium
But “the ADA does not require employers to create new positions.” Wat son v. Lithonia Lighting, 304 F.3d 749, 752 (7th Cir.2002); see Jackson, 414 F.3d at 813 (explaining that employers need not manufacture jobs that will allow employee to work despite disability).
discussed Cited as authority (rule) Johns, Linda v. Laidlaw Education Se (2×)
7th Cir. · 2006 · confidence medium
It is true that Laidlaw does not have to convert temporary positions into permanent ones, see Watson v. Lithonia Lighting & National Service Industry, Inc., 304 F.3d 749, 751 (7th Cir. 2002), bump incumbent employees out of their jobs, see Ozlowski, 237 F.3d at 841 n.2, or abandon job prerequisites, see Winfrey v. City of Chicago, 259 F.3d 610, 618 (7th Cir. 2001); Equal No. 06-1986 Page 4 Employment Opportunity Comm’n v. Humiston-Keeling, Inc., 227 F.3d 1024, 1028 (7th Cir. 2000).
discussed Cited as authority (rule) Raine v. City of Burbank (2×)
Cal. Ct. App. · 2006 · confidence medium
(Watson v. Lithonia Lighting (7th Cir. 2002) 304 F.3d 749, 752 (Watson); Hoskins v. Oakland County Sheriff’s Dept. (6th Cir. 2000) 227 F.3d 719, 730-731 (Hoskins); Malabarba v. Chicago Tribune Co. (7th Cir. 1998) 149 F.3d 690, 696 (Malabarba); Aldrich v. Boeing Co. (10th Cir. 1998) 146 F.3d 1265, 1271, fn. 5 ; Laurin v. Providence Hosp. (1st Cir. 1998) 150 F.3d 52, 60 (Laurin); cf. Shiring v. Runyon (3d Cir. 1996) 90 F.3d 827 [reasonable accommodation requirements of federal *1225 Rehabilitation Act applicable to federal employees did not require employer to make temporary light-duty positio…
discussed Cited as authority (rule) Nedzvekas v. LTV COPPERWELD
N.D. Ill. · 2005 · confidence medium
P. 56(e) states: “Supporting and opposing affidavits shall be made on personal knowledge, shall set forth such facts as would be admissible in evidence, and shall show affirmatively that the affiant is competent to testify to the matters stated therein.” Affidavits offered “in support of or opposition to summary judgment create an issue of fact only to the extent that they provide evidence that would be admissible if offered live on the witness stand.” Watson v. Lithonia Lighting, Nat’l Service Industries, Inc., 304 F.3d 749, 751-52 (7th Cir.2002).
discussed Cited as authority (rule) Crystal Lake Cheese Factory v. Labor & Industry Review Commission (2×)
Wis. · 2003 · confidence medium
Peters v. City of Mauston, 311 F.3d 835, 845-846 (7th *222 Cir. 2002); Watson v. Lithonia Lighting, 304 F.3d 749, 752 (7th Cir. 2002).
cited Cited as authority (rule) Palmer, Ronald v. Marion County
7th Cir. · 2003 · confidence medium
Rule 56(e) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure requires that affidavits be made on personal knowledge.3 Watson v. Lithonia Lighting, 304 F.3d 749, 751-52 (7th Cir. 2002).
cited Cited as authority (rule) Ronald Palmer v. Marion County, City of Indianapolis, and Sheriff Jack Cottey
7th Cir. · 2003 · confidence medium
Rule 56(e) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure requires that affidavits be made on personal knowledge. 3 Watson v. Lithonia Lighting, 304 F.3d 749, 751-52 (7th Cir.2002).
discussed Cited as authority (rule) Lewis v. Henderson (2×)
N.D. Ill. · 2003 · confidence medium
Watson v. Lithonia Lighting, 304 F.3d 749, 752 (7th Cir.2002).
cited Cited "see" Sherman v. ConAgra Foods Inc
E.D. Wis. · 2024 · signal: see · confidence high
See Gratzl v. Office of the Chief Judges of the 12th, 18th, 19th & 22nd Judicial Circuits, 601 F.3d 674, 680 (7th Cir. 2010) (citing Watson v. Lithonia Lighting, 304 F.3d 749, 752 (7th Cir. 2002)).
cited Cited "see" Gibson, Justin v. Sunbelt Rentals, Inc.
W.D. Wis. · 2022 · signal: see · confidence high
See Watson v. Lithonia Lighting, 304 F.3d 749 , 751–52 (7th Cir. 2002) (affiant must explain how he knows the information he is testifying about).
cited Cited "see" Shaw v. Delaware North Companies SportService, Inc.
N.D. Ill. · 2021 · signal: see · confidence high
See Watson v. Lithonia Lighting, 304 F.3d 749, 752 (7th Cir. 2002).
cited Cited "see" Sample v. Starke County Board of Commissioners
N.D. Ind. · 2020 · signal: see · confidence high
See Watson v. Lithonia Lighting, 304 F.3d 749, 752 (7th Cir. 2002).
discussed Cited "see" Mazzacone v. Tyson Fresh Meats, Inc.
N.D. Ind. · 2016 · signal: see · confidence high
See Dalton v. Subaru-Isuzu Auto., Inc., 141 F.3d 667, 680 (7th Cir.1998) ("The ADA does not compel an employer to reduce the number of bona fide temporary jobs it has set aside.. .and to convert them to permanent positions for its disabled employees,”); see. also Watson v, Lithonia Lighting, 304 F.3d 749, 752 (7th Cir.2002) ("[T]he ADA does not require an employer that sets aside a pool of positions for recovering employees to make those positions available indefinitely to an employee whose recovery has run its course.”).
cited Cited "see" Kotwica v. Rose Packing Co., Inc.
7th Cir. · 2011 · signal: see · confidence high
See Watson v. Lithonia Lighting, 304 F.3d 749, 752 (7th Cir.2002).
cited Cited "see" Delgado v. Certified Grocers Midwest, Inc.
7th Cir. · 2008 · signal: see · confidence high
See Watson v. Lithonia Lighting, 304 F.3d 749, 752 (7th Cir.2002). 1 Therefore, Delga do has failed to meet his burden to show that Certified could have made reasonable accommodations.
cited Cited "see" Delgado, Ricardo v. Certified Grocers
7th Cir. · 2008 · signal: see · confidence high
See Watson v. Lithonia Lighting, 304 F.3d 749, 752 (7th Cir. 2002).1 Therefore, Delgado has failed to meet his burden to show that Certified could have made reasonable accommodations.
cited Cited "see" Mason v. Northern Indiana Public Service Co.
7th Cir. · 2005 · signal: see · confidence high
See Watson v. Lithonia Lighting, 304 F.3d 749, 752 (7th Cir.2002); Gile v. United Airlines, Inc., 95 F.3d 492, 499 (7th Cir. 1996).
discussed Cited "see" Lust v. Sealy, Inc.
W.D. Wis. · 2002 · signal: see · confidence high
See Watson v. Lithonia Lighting, 304 F.3d 749, 751-52 (7th Cir.2002) (holding that employee failed to create issue of fact regarding other employee’s job tasks when she “does not explain how she *920 learned this or offer evidence from anyone with personal knowledge”).
cited Cited "see, e.g." Moore v. AT&T
C.D. Ill. · 2023 · signal: see, e.g. · confidence low
See, e.g., id. at 111:14–16 (agreeing that he “had no problem with [talking about] cannabis, but . . . thought that talking about stocks was improper”).
Retrieving the full opinion text from the archive…
Tamara WATSON, Plaintiff-Appellant,
v.
LITHONIA LIGHTING and National Service Industries, Inc., Defendants-Appellees
02-1423.
Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.
Sep 20, 2002.
304 F.3d 749
2002 U.S. App. LEXIS 19627
2002 WL 31102173
James E. Ayers (argued), Wernle, Ris-tine & Ayers, Crawfordsville, IN, for Plaintiff-Appellant., James D. Masur, II (argued), Locke Reynolds, Indianapolis, IN, for Defendants-Appellees.
Posner, Easterbrook, Wood.
Cited by 44 opinions  |  Published
EASTERBROOK, Circuit Judge.

In July 1997 Tamara Watson went to work on the assembly fines of Lithonia Lighting in Crawfordsville, Indiana. Ten months later she suffered a shoulder injury that restricted her ability to perform the repetitive motions characteristic of assembly-line work. Lithonia assigned Watson a series of tasks that she remained able to complete. In June 1999 Watson’s physician informed Lithonia that she would never again be able to perform any tasks that require repetitive motion of her upper right arm. Lithonia, which says that it requires all assembly-line workers to rotate through all positions (the better to avoid repetitive-stress injuries), concluded that it had no manual jobs available for someone with Watson’s limitations, and it let her go. She sued under the Americans with Disabilities Act, contending that Li-thonia should have given her as an accom[*751] modation on a permanent basis the sort of positions she held between May 1998 and June 1999. The district court granted summary judgment in Lithonia’s favor, ruling that it need not create a new position suited to her physical restrictions. 2002 WL 393076 (S.D.Ind. Jan. 14, 2002). That was a sound ruling. Even if Watson is “disabled” as the ADA uses that word in 42 U.S.C. § 12102(2)(A) — a doubtful proposition given the view that Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky, Inc. v. Williams, 534 U.S. 184, 122 S.Ct. 681, 151 L.Ed.2d 615 (2002), took of repetitive-motion injuries — she was entitled only to a “reasonable” accommodation, and we have held that it is not “reasonable” to require an employer to create new jobs tailored to each employee’s abilities. See, e.g., Mays v. Princvpi, 301 F.3d 866 (7th Cir.2002); Hansen v. Henderson, 233 F.3d 521, 523-24 (7th Cir.2000).

Watson concedes that, if all manual workers indeed rotate through all positions on Lithonia’s assembly line, then it offers no jobs that she can perform, so that she is not “otherwise qualified”. See 42 U.S.C. § 12112(b)(5)(A). See also, e.g., Miller v. Illinois Department of Corrections, 107 F.3d 483, 485 (7th Cir.1997). Moreover, Watson admits that rotation is Lithonia’s norm and selves a business purpose; it is not a scheme cooked up to avoid obligations under the ADA. Rotation not only reduces the risk of injury caused by long-term repetition of particular motions but also, by qualifying every worker to perform each task on the fine, facilitates production by making it easier for the firm to substitute among workers when some go on vacation or fail to appear without warning. Nonetheless, Watson contends that Lithonia makes exceptions to rotation— and if it makes exceptions for other employees, Watson insists, then it must accommodate her by making another.

One aspect of this contention appears in an affidavit that Watson filed. According to this affidavit, two employees have been allowed to do a subset of all assembly-line tasks rather than rotate through all of them. The difficulty with this submission is that Watson does not explain how she learned this or offer evidence from anyone with personal knowledge (such as one of the employees in question or a supervisor who assigns employees to tasks). Yet Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(e) provides: “Supporting and opposing affidavits shall be made on personal knowledge, shall set forth such facts as would be admissible in evidence, and shall show affirmatively that the affiant is competent to testify to the matters stated therein.” Affidavits offered in support of or opposition to summary judgment create an issue of fact only to the extent that they provide evidence that would be admissible if of[*752] fered live on the witness stand. See Eisenstadt v. Centel Coiy)., 113 F.3d 738, 742 (7th Cir.1997). Watson’s affidavit was not based on personal knowledge and did not imply the availability of any admissible evidence. That leaves Lithonia’s evidence uncontested.

There remains the possibility that Lithonia has non-rotating positions or slots that always are filled, though by a changing cast of characters. An employer might establish a pool of light-duty positions (or other subsets of the full tasks) suited to employees recovering from injuries. See Hendricks-Robinson v. Excel Corp., 154 F.3d 685, 696 (7th Cir.1998). Lithonia provided such an accommodation to Watson so that she could continue working after her injury. This benefits not only the employee (by providing income and helping to keep skills honed) but also the employer, which can have experienced workers available for reassignment once they recover. This is exactly what the ADA encourages. Watson contends that, if an employer goes this far, it must allow an injured employee to occupy the light-duty (or limited-task) position indefinitely. Yet this would be bad news for the rest of the labor force. If an employer set aside, say, five positions for use by assembly-line workers recovering from repetitive-motion stress, on Watson’s view the first five to occupy these positions would be entitled to keep them indefinitely. That would close the positions to other workers who might have been able to use them during recovery— and it would increase the frequency of repetitive-motion injuries in the workplace. For if the employer must station five workers at positions that do not require particular motions (such as movements of the upper right arm), other assembly line workers will be forced to spend a greater portion of their time in those positions and will be more exposed to repetitive-motion injury as a consequence. If injured workers occupy the five restricted-duty positions only temporarily, during recovery, this can be avoided: a given employee might be held off a line that requires the use of air guns (and thus the right shoulder) for a time, but her successor may be able to use air guns while refraining from connecting wires. Because the set of tasks allocated to the recovery positions would change with the occupants, an employer could maintain a rotation system for the workplace as a whole. Once the positions are permanently assigned, however, the rotation system is foiled and its benefits lost. Watson’s position, if adopted, thus would simultaneously increase the incidence of workplace injury and diminish the employer’s ability to accommodate employees who have transient conditions.

We conclude that the ADA does not require an employer that sets aside a pool of positions for recovering employees to make those positions available indefinitely to an employee whose recovery has run its course without restoring that worker to her original healthy state. A person is “otherwise qualified” within the meaning of the ADA only if she can perform one of the regular jobs (with or without an accommodation). Watson cannot perform any assembly-line job at Lithonia; what she wants is a different job, comprising a subset of the assembly-line tasks, rather than an accommodation in the performance of one of Lithonia’s existing assembly-line jobs (all of which entail all tasks). Because the ADA does not require employers to create new positions, the judgment of the district court is

Affirmed.

The complaint named as defendants Lithonia Lighting and its corporate parent National Service Industries, Inc. Watson does not explain on what basis a parent corporation could be held liable, though National Service makes nothing of this. And it is not clear that any entity known as "Lithonia Lighting” exists today — or ever did. Lithonia Lighting appears to be a trade name for a line of products, not the name of any corporation. Cf. Schiavone v. Fortune, 477 U.S. 21, 106 S.Ct. 2379, 91 L.Ed.2d 18 (1986). According to Lithonia’s web site, its corporate name is Acuity Lighting Group, Inc., and it is no longer National Service's subsidiary (having been spun off in November 2001 as a subsidiary of a newly formed Acuity Brands, Inc.). Yet the Rule 26.1 disclosure statement of defendants’ brief, filed in May 2002, asserts that a "Litho-nia Lighting” is a wholly owned subsidiary of National Service Industries. If it is or was a subsidiary, however, it must be a corporation, yet "Lithonia Lighting” does not include a corporate identifier (though "Acuity Lighting Group, Inc.” does). We use "Lithonia Lighting” in the text without making further attempts to determine the identity and ownership of Watson’s former employer.