Discovery of Federal Tax Returns in ADA Employment Case

Must Federal Tax Returns be Produced by ADA Plaintiff?

A federal court on March 18, 2016 ordered an ADA plaintiff to produce his tax returns in a case in which lost employment income is alleged. Plaintiff had injured his shoulder and sued for failure to accommodate under the ADA and state law.

Finding that tax returns are not privileged, the court held that the employer is entitled to the returns. “While this Court does not consider the merits of Defendant's claims that Plaintiff may have received income "under the table," Defendant has shown that there is some dispute as to the completeness of Plaintiff's wage information.”  Besco v. City of Longview, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 35465 (W.D. WA). The spouses’ and other irrelevant information may be redacted.