Yesterday, we talked about how workplace accommodations that enable an employee to remain at work (and get paid) are generally better than ones that require time off, like an unpaid leave of absence.
But sometimes, there’s only one option. Continue reading
I’ve practiced law for over twenty years, mainly as an employment lawyer. In that time, I’ve lost track of the number of times that I’ve counseled employers on their obligations under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Some of those have involved accommodating employees with end-stage renal disease and adjusting work schedules to allow for dialysis appointments.
But, an accommodation request to perform dialysis at work? That’s a new one.
Yesterday, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission released a new technical assistance document called “Visual Disabilities in the Workplace and the Americans with Disabilities Act.”
Sure, you could read all 59 pages of it. Or I can digest it here for you in a few hundred words—your choice. Continue reading
The Americans with Disabilities Act prohibits discrimination based on a disability concerning employment. That includes refusing to hire someone based on an actual disability, a perceived disability, or a record of disability.
Whether an employer regards a job applicant as having a disability or learns about a record of a disability, an employer cannot lawfully refuse to hire them because they are receiving addiction treatment — even if that means the individual is currently in a methadone maintenance program.
Yesterday, we discussed how an employee asserting a failure-to-accommodate claim under Title VII must establish that their request for a religious accommodation resulted in an adverse employment action. The same appellate court deciding that case also recently confirmed that the same maxim applies to failure-to-accommodate claims under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
But, there’s a rub. Continue reading
I’m neither a doctor nor a meteorologist but an employment lawyer. And, like the First Circuit Court of Appeals in this recent decision, I struggle with what the employer in Puerto Rico could have done differently to accommodate one of its workers. Continue reading
Near the beginning of the pandemic, an employee in New Jersey reported to work but felt ill; specifically, he felt “cold, clammy, and weak.” After going home, the employer told him not to return until he tested for COVID-19. The next day, the plaintiff went to a free clinic where he obtained a COVID-19 test. While waiting for the results, the employee reported to his employer that he felt better, and offered to return to work, maintaining social distance from others. The employer fired him instead.
Is this disability discrimination? Continue reading
Now, I know a lot of you reading this are out in Las Vegas at SHRM23 right now. And you probably work for companies that provide Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) to employees that could use counseling or support.
Most of you know that the Americans with Disabilities Act, which bans discrimination against employees who have actual disabilities and those that employers perceive as having a disability, also prohibits employers from inquiring about the nature or severity of a disability unless the inquiry is shown to be “job-related and consistent with business necessity.”
But have you ever wondered whether recommending an EAP to an employee invokes the ADA?
The Americans with Disabilities Act does not protect employee use of illegal drugs. It does not prevent employers from testing applicants or employees for current illegal drug use or making employment decisions based on verifiable results. However, the ADA would protect an employee with a disability who fails a drug test if the employer bases its termination decision on the underlying disability rather than the test result.
But here’s the thing. Continue reading
On May 11, 2023, the federal Public Health Emergency for COVID-19 ended. However, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced yesterday that “the end of the declaration does not change the requirements of the federal equal employment opportunity laws discussed in this publication.”
So, the EEOC took the opportunity to update its COVID-19 Technical Assistance.
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