Articles Posted in Disability

The Americans with Disabilities Act bars employers from firing someone because they have a disability. It also requires employers to provide workplace accommodations to otherwise “qualified” individuals with actual disabilities unless going so would create an undue hardship. Someone who is “qualified” can perform the job’s essential functions with or without an accommodation.

Put another way, if the employee can’t do the job with or without help, then the ADA doesn’t protect them – as one employee recently found out the hard way. Continue reading

There’s a reason that they don’t teach “clairvoyance” in HR certification courses.

(Although, it would be nice to have it to avoid some hires, amirite?) Continue reading

Yesterday, I told you about the EEOC’s new resource document for assisting individuals with hearing disabilities. Today, I’ll tell you how the Second Circuit Court of Appeals breathed new life into the failure-to-accommodate claims of a deaf individual who worked as a case manager for a city’s Human Resources Administration (HRA).

So, thank you, blogging gods, for the impeccable timing.

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If you’re an employment law nerd like me, in addition to being the envy of your neighborhood, you also know that the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission does not shy away from bringing failure-to-accommodate claims on behalf of deaf individuals. Look at all of them! Continue reading

The Americans with Disabilities Act prohibits employers from discriminating against qualified individuals because of a disability. A qualified individual can perform the job’s essential functions with or without a reasonable accommodation. Often, an individual with a disability will approach a supervisor or HR, identify their limitations, and ask for help. It’s a modest burden.

Then, it’s the employer’s job to continue a good faith, interactive process to determine whether a reasonable accommodation exists to help the employee without creating undue hardship on the business. When done right, it’s a win-win. But, when the employer impedes the process, it often results in a lawsuit. Continue reading

A recent Eighth Circuit decision helps show how an employer can discharge its obligations to engage in the Americans with Disabilities Act interactive process in good faith. Continue reading

I have another HR tip related to yesterday’s blog post and accommodating employees under the Americans with Disabilities Act and what counts as an essential job function. Continue reading