UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT

┐ CAMERON JOSEPH COOPER, │ Plaintiff-Appellant, │ > No. 23-5397 │ v. │ │ DOLGENCORP, LLC, │ Defendant, │ │ │ COCA-COLA CONSOLIDATED, INC., │ Defendant-Appellee. │ ┘ Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee at Knoxville. No. 3:20-cv-00362—Charles Edward Atchley, Jr., District Judge.

Argued: December 6, 2023

Decided and Filed: February 15, 2024

Before: MOORE, MURPHY, and MATHIS, Circuit Judges. _________________

COUNSEL ARGUED: Clint J. Coleman, NELSON LAW GROUP, PLLC, Knoxville, Tennessee, for Appellant. Jeffrey D. Patton, SPILMAN THOMAS & BATTLE, PLLC, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, for Appellee. ON BRIEF: Clint J. Coleman, Jesse D. Nelson, NELSON LAW GROUP, PLLC, Knoxville, Tennessee, for Appellant. Jeffrey D. Patton, SPILMAN THOMAS & BATTLE, PLLC, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, for Appellee. No. 23-5397 Cooper v. Dolgencorp, LLC, et al. Page 2

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OPINION _________________

MATHIS, Circuit Judge. Cameron Cooper has a disability that causes him to involuntarily utter racist and profane words. Even with the disability, Cooper (like many adults in America) needs to work to earn an income. Fortunately, the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) provides a remedy for an employee whose employer discriminates against him for having a disability. But to access the remedy, the employee must be able to perform the functions of his job, with or without help (an accommodation) from his employer.

Coca-Cola Consolidated, Inc. (“CCCI”) hired Cooper to deliver its products to its customers. Like many jobs that require an employee to interact with the employer’s customers, Cooper needed to provide excellent customer service. Cooper’s racist and profane language at times got in the way of him providing excellent customer service to CCCI’s customers. Over the years, CCCI provided Cooper with various accommodations for his disability. CCCI’s last accommodation to Cooper required him to transfer to a position with no contact with CCCI’s customers. That transfer led to Cooper suing CCCI under the ADA for disability discrimination and constructive discharge.

The district court granted summary judgment to CCCI. For the reasons that follow, we affirm.

I.

In 2016, Cooper began working for CCCI as a delivery merchandiser. Prior to CCCI hiring Cooper, he had already been diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome. Tourette Syndrome causes unwanted, involuntary muscle movements and sounds known as “tics.” For Cooper, his Tourette Syndrome has a rare tic symptom known as coprolalia. The condition causes Cooper to use obscene and inappropriate vocalizations, including profanity (bitch) and a racial slur (nigger). No. 23-5397 Cooper v. Dolgenco