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The Employer Handbook BlogThere’s no bright-line rule or magic words needed for employees to request workplace accommodations.
See what you think of this. Continue reading
Articles Posted in Disability
An employer that refuses to accommodate an employee’s disability can still win an ADA lawsuit. Here’s how.
The Americans with Disabilities Act requires employers to make reasonable accommodations for a qualified individual with a disability unless doing so will impose an undue hardship on its business. A plaintiff who claims that their employer failed to accommodate them must initially establish that they could perform the position’s essential functions and that the employer refused to provide an accommodation.
Most courts have found that an employer’s good faith attempt to accommodate is insufficient. However, those courts will not impose liability unless the plaintiff establishes an alternative reasonable accommodation. Continue reading
Supervisors playing doctor — unless they’re doctors — is a bad idea
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission recently issued two press releases: one announcing a disability discrimination lawsuit and another about a recent settlement of age and disability discrimination claims. Both involve supervisors who allegedly thought they knew more than medical professionals.
They were wrong. Continue reading
This guy didn’t need an accommodation to perform his job. He wanted one to avoid discipline.
Today, I will tell you about an employee caught sleeping on the job.
Several times. Continue reading
Man tests positive for marijuana, blames it on his lip balm, and doubles down with an ADA lawsuit.
Yesterday, I wrote about how the DEA’s move to ease restrictions on marijuana would change the ADA landscape for employers by requiring accommodations for employees with disabilities who use medical cannabis to treat.
For now, however, marijuana remains a Schedule One drug. So, the Americans with Disabilities Act does not protect individuals with actual disabilities who lose their jobs for testing positive because the ADA does not protect individuals engaging in “the illegal use of drugs” within the meaning of the statute.
But what if the employee does not have an actual disability? Continue reading
With the DEA reportedly ready to ease restrictions on marijuana, the ADA landscape changes for employers
Last week, the Associated Press reported that the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration would move to reclassify marijuana (cannabis), moving it from Schedule I, where it’s currently listed with heroin and LSD, to Schedule III, with as less dangerous doctor-prescribed drugs like (Tylenol with codeine) and testosterone. Continue reading
Court to employers: Don’t wait too long to arbitrate employments claims
A recent federal appellate court decision is an important reminder to confirm early—not later—whether the employee suing your business signed an arbitration agreement. Continue reading
“This case illustrates why the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) exists.”
Imagine being an employer-defendant and reading that sentence as the lede in a court’s summary judgment opinion.
Ouch! Continue reading
Generally, an employer’s duty to accommodate takes more than an employee merely disclosing a disability
In a recent Fourth Circuit decision, the plaintiff learned this lesson the hard way. Continue reading
An employer settled claims it refused to accommodate a pregnant worker who then miscarried
“Miscarriages can be personally devastating. No one should have to choose between getting the pregnancy care they need and losing a job.” Continue reading