In Yerdon v. Poitras, --- F.4th ---, 2024 WL 4674339 (2d Cir. 2024), the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit addressed (1) whether sovereign immunity bars claims for employment discrimination under Title I and retaliation under Title V of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and (2) whether the ADA permits suits against individual employees and supervisors.

In a per curiam opinion, Circuit Judges Amalya L. Kearse, Richard J. Sullivan, and Beth Robinson held, as matters of first impression, that sovereign immunity bars Title I suits against individual employees as well as Title V retaliation claims predicated on an alleged violation of Title I. These holdings align the Second Circuit with all of its sister circuits that have addressed these issues, and affirm holdings by district courts within the circuit that have adopted a narrow scope of liability under the ADA. The decision may ultimately lead to fewer suits under the ADA, or at a minimum, suits that are aimed solely at employers, rather than individuals at an employer.