Job Description Mistakes You Don’t Want to Make
HR Law 101 Ep.4: What You Need to Know About Creating Effective Job Descriptions
During the COVID-19 pandemic and afterwards, employers have faced a growing number of requests for remote work arrangements based on a medical disability. The Americans with Disabilities Act requires employers to grant...more
Seems like every other day we hear about some company calling employees back to the office. Some go better than others. I am not the first person to say this, but we’re entering and setting up camp in a new era of work....more
Federal laws, such as the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”), Rehabilitation Act, and Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (“PWFA”), and similar state laws require certain employers to provide reasonable accommodations for...more
Over the past two years, we have received an increasing number of inquiries from clients regarding their return to the office policies. While some workers object to the end of remote work due to lifestyle preferences, others...more
Employers in Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin must now accommodate an employee’s work-schedule “if an employee's disability substantially interferes with his ability to travel to and from work … if commuting to work is a...more
That's one way to get employers to allow remote work. We all know that employers with 15 or more employees are covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act and may have to provide reasonable accommodations to allow...more
Fifth Circuit precedent recognizes the “general consensus among courts” that regular, in-person work is an essential function of most jobs. Yet the continued viability of this premise has been in question, given the ability...more
The ongoing pandemic has made telework much more common for many workplaces. As we begin to return to normalcy, employees may question whether they need to be physically present at work when telework has proven to be...more
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has published guidance addressing various issues related to employment law and COVID-19. On September 8, 2020, the EEOC posted updates, which...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: On March 27, 2020, the EEOC announced its views on the COVID-19 pandemic. In particular, the EEOC provided guidance on how laws under its jurisdiction, such as the ADA, Title VII, and GINA, should be...more
A North Carolina federal trial court recently denied an employer’s request to dismiss a former employee’s disability discrimination and retaliation claims under the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”). The case provides a...more
I get this call pretty frequently. A client wants know whether it should accommodate an employee by allowing the employee to telecommute or work remotely. The answer, in typical attorney fashion, is "it depends." And it does....more
In his classic 1998 business book “Who Moved my Cheese?,” Spencer Johnson discussed the need for businesses and employees to focus on the need to adapt to changes in their industries. In our practice, we frequently see claims...more
Over the past several years, our practice has seen a marked increase in the number of employee accommodation requests that involve remote work. As communications technologies have improved, these employees regularly contend...more
Q: I received an email from an employee stating that he is sick, but will be working from home. Should I allow my employee to work remotely while sick? What are the FLSA implications of allowing an employee to work from...more
As technology changes, courts have increasingly accepted disabled employees’ arguments that they can remotely perform the essential functions of their jobs. Therefore, telecommuting may be recognized as a form of required...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals recently held that telecommuting can be a reasonable accommodation under the ADA when the employee is able to perform the essential functions of the position remotely and...more
Does the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) require you to allow telecommuting? If the employee’s job, like most jobs, involves attendance and teamwork as essential functions, the answer is likely no. However, more and...more
Employers continue to face disability discrimination claims from employees who argue that their medical conditions give them a right to work from home as a reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act...more
As technology makes it more possible for employees to work from remote locations, employers are increasingly faced with requests from employees to work from home. When these requests are based on medical reasons, the employer...more
In a decision that will provide some solace to employers asked to permit remote work as a reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit recently...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: In a recent win for employers, the Fifth Circuit clarified that opened-ended or unlimited requests to work from home are unreasonable under the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) and may be rejected...more
The movie director and comedian Woody Allen is credited with the observation that “Showing up is 80% of life.” A federal court of appeals in New Orleans has gone one step further and ruled that showing up for work is a 100%...more
A workforce that adheres to a traditional work style, or a consistent eight-hour workday in the same location – with no offsite work or interaction with business colleagues or customers – is increasingly becoming a relic in...more
An en banc panel of the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals (Court) recently upheld the trial court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of Ford Motor Company in EEOC v. Ford Motor Company, on the basis that telecommuting was not...more