Traniece Morgan v. Ohio Dep't of Rehab. & Corr.

── Traniece Morgan v. Ohio Dep't of Rehab. & Corr. ── Court: Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit Date: April 14, 2026 Category: General NOT RECOMMENDED FOR PUBLICATION File Name: 26a0167n.06 No. 25-3722 UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT FILED Apr 14, 2026 ) KELLY L. STEPHENS, Clerk TRANIECE MORGAN, ) Plaintiff-Appellant, ) ) ON APPEAL FROM THE UNITED v. ) STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR ) THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF OHIO DEPARTMENT OF ) OHIO REHABILITATION AND CORRECTION, ) Defendant-Appellee. ) OPINION ) Before: BOGGS, BATCHELDER, and MOORE, Circuit Judges. BOGGS, Circuit Judge. Traniece Morgan brought a disability-discrimination claim under the Rehabilitation Act, 29 U. S.C. § 701 et seq., against her employer of thirty-plus years, the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction (“ODRC”), for failure to accommodate her history of transient ischemic attacks (“TIAs”) and failure to engage in an interactive process to determine how to accommodate Morgan for the disability. The district court held that ODRC was entitled to summary judgment because Morgan had failed to request an accommodation for her disability and that Morgan herself had abandoned the interactive process. Although the record indicates that Morgan felt hostility and lack of respect from ODRC, the only claim before us is her disability - discrimination claim and the district court properly held that Morgan failed to establish that she had been discriminated against on the basis of her disability. No. 25-3722, Morgan v. ODRC I. Background Morgan has worked for ODRC since 1994 and is currently a financial associate at the Franklin Medical Center (“FMC”), which houses prisoners needing intensive medical and nursing care. Morgan has a history of Transient Ischemic Attacks (“TIAs”). ODRC has had actual knowledge of her condition at least since in 2014, when she applied for intermittent leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”). In that application, her doctor certified her condition and noted that when Morgan had a TIA, she would need to be hospitalized. Like all ODRC employees, Morgan had to renew her FMLA certification annually and Morgan’s request for accommodation was always the same: hospitalization in the event she suffered a TIA. She never requested any other accommodation. From 2014 to 2023 Morgan worked without significant disability-related issues, taking intermittent FMLA leave only when she suffered a TIA. But in 2023, her direct supervisor, Christina Robinson, stated that Morgan had become “increasingly disruptive” and “unprofessional” and was “aggressive” and “hostile” when communicating with co-workers or her supervisor. That June, ODRC placed Morgan on paid administrative leave for her “unprofessional” and “aggressive” conduct and would not allow her to return to work until she had an independent medical exam (“IME”) with a psychologist to determine if she could perform her essential job functions. Dr. Michael Murphy, who was selected by ODRC, completed Morgan’s IME and concluded that Morgan was not able to perform the full duties of her job. He concluded that Morgan was impaired to the degree that she would “require modified work activity in order to return to any occupation, including her former job” and that “resumption o