No violation of the ADA where MS patient-employee can no longer drive and driving is an "essential function"

  In Blank v. Pathways Community Mental Health, the Court upheld the Plaintiff's dismissal from her position as a life skills technician, after she was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis.  The Employer and the Court relied heavily upon her Job Description which provided that the ability to drive to client homes and to provide transportation was an "essential functon" within her job.  Under existing definitions of the ADA and Michigan's Handicapper Civil Rights Act, the employer is not obligated to accommodate by finding the disabled employee a new job or re-defining an existing job.