As a thank you to the many readers who provided me with stellar Dallas-area BBQ recommendations, like the one featured above from Hutchins BBQ in McKinney, I’m sharing a tool that the U.S. Department of Labor recently announced to provide workers with disabilities and employers ideas for workplace accommodations. Continue reading
I’ll go ahead and file this one under “duh.” Continue reading
The Americans with Disabilities Act prohibits discrimination against “qualified individuals with disabilities.” A qualified individual can perform the essential functions of their job with or without accommodation. While not the be-all-and-end-all, an employer’s business judgment about what job functions are essential carries substantial weight under the ADA. Still, courts often consider whether a particular job function is essential on a case-by-case basis.
Last night, I read a federal court opinion highlighting three ways employers and their managers can create uncertainty about which job functions are essential. Continue reading
It may be as easy as listing the essential functions of the job. Continue reading
Something caught my eye yesterday as I was perusing the EEOC newsroom. The federal watchdog recently announced that it had filed a lawsuit against an employer for something called Americans with Disabilities Act interference.
What exactly is ADA interference? Continue reading
About two weeks ago, I spotlighted an EEOC lawsuit where the agency claimed an employer fired a woman four days after she experienced a stillbirth and one day after submitting a confirming letter from her doctor, which also recommended six weeks to recuperate physically and grieve. Continue reading
Yesterday, the EEOC announced that it had sued an employer for allegedly denying a new hire request to leave training early for an urgent medical evaluation related to her pregnancy and rescinded her job offer.
These are just allegations. However, according to the EEOC complaint, the federal discrimination watchdog appears to have the receipts to back them up. Continue reading
Today’s lesson is about the interplay between the Americans with Disabilities Act, which requires employers to accommodate known disabilities absent undue hardship, and the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, which took effect last year and also requires an employer to accommodate known limitations related to, affected by, or arising out of pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions unless doing so will result in an undue hardship. Continue reading
Last week, we discussed an FMLA policy that your business needs to rip from its employee handbook and burn with fire. This week, we revisit an Americans Disabilities Act policy that should end up on the paper shredder: the 100% healed policy.
Folks, I’ve lost track of the number of disability accommodation requests on which I’ve counseled human resources concerning employee requests to work full-time from home. So, when I came across a recent decision from the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit involving a failure-to-accommodate claim where the employer insisted on a 100% telework accommodation, I read with interest, as we lawyers like to say.
The Employer Handbook Blog