Despite the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s more nuanced position, federal courts have generally rejected attempts by plaintiffs to claim that an indefinite leave of absence is a required reasonable accommodation...more
The Americans with Disabilities Act requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations to employees with medical disabilities. The ADA also prohibits employers from disclosing information about an employee’s medical...more
The Americans with Disabilities Act does not require employers to always allow disabled people to return to the job. In order to claim protection under the law, the disabled employee must show that he or she can perform the...more
Perhaps the most frequent question we receive with regard to employee medical leave involves the following scenario: An employee requests and is provided family and medical leave. Upon the expiration of the 12-week FMLA...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
Contrary to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (EEOC) position discussed in last week’s EmployNews, federal courts continue to allow employers to require employees to actually come to work. Last month, the Fifth...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
A recent decision from the Second Circuit Court of Appeals illustrates the limits of employers’ obligations to accommodate employee disabilities under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Stevens v. Rite Aid Corp....more
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) encourages employers to engage in an interactive process with disabled employees to determine if there are reasonable accommodations that allow the employee to perform the essential...more
When an employee tests positive for illegal drug use or self-discloses such use, many employers condition return to work on the employee’s participation in a substance abuse treatment program. These programs can include drug...more
Several years ago, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) raised employers’ eyebrows when it filed several lawsuits challenging the validity of employer-sponsored wellness programs. The EEOC contended that such...more
For years, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and federal courts have acknowledged that employers do not have to excuse employee disciplinary violations because the employee later attributes such conduct to a...more
The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) does not require employers to agree to allow employees to work from home based on medical restrictions. The Americans with Disabilities Act may require employers to provide such...more
For years, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has taken the administrative position that if a disabled employee can no longer perform his or her job, the employer must place that employee in a vacant position...more
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) only requires employers to provide accommodations that allow the disabled employee or applicant to perform the essential functions of the job. The employer is not required to shift or...more
Since the inception of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has taken the position that employees can trigger the Act’s reasonable accommodation obligations without having to ask...more
Almost since the enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act, motor carriers and drivers have clashed over the carriers’ ability to exclude drivers from service based on health issues. Many of these controversies have...more
Here is a common human resource scenario: An employee goes out of work on medical leave. While she is away from work, the managers or co-workers who cover her duties discover that the work can be readily accomplished without...more
7/19/2016
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Appeals ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Dismissals ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Legitimate Business Interest ,
Medical Leave ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Reduction in Hours ,
Reinstatement ,
Summary Judgment ,
Wage and Hour
In last year’s Young decision, the U.S. Supreme Court found that an employer could not exclude pregnant employees from participation in a light duty work program absent demonstration of significant burdens that would result...more
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission issued final regulations on May 18, 2016 that place limits on financial incentives used in certain employer-sponsored wellness programs. The two rules issued under the ADA and GINA,...more
The Americans with Disabilities Act prohibits employers from refusing to hire qualified individuals with a disability on the basis of their condition, if they can perform the essential functions of the job with or without...more
5/18/2016
/ Administrative Remedies ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Commercial Truck Drivers ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Essential Functions ,
FMCSA ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
Medical Examinations ,
Popular ,
Remand ,
Reversal
Employers frequently offer light duty work as a means for injured employees to return to their regular job duties. Light duty is typically associated with employees with Workers’ Compensation related injuries. ...more
Since the Americans with Disabilities Act was adopted, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has considered morbid obesity to fall within the definition of a protected disability. Earlier this month, the Eighth Circuit...more
The Americans with Disabilities Amendment Act significantly broadened the definition of protected disabled individuals under federal antidiscrimination law. In subsequent rules implementing ADAAA, the Equal Employment...more
4/13/2016
/ ADAAA ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Disability ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Essential Functions ,
Failure to Accommodate ,
Mercedes-Benz ,
Over-Time ,
Pregnancy ,
Pregnancy Discrimination ,
SCOTUS ,
Young v United Parcel Service
Most employers would assume that a traveling salesperson who could no longer drive due to a medical condition cannot perform the essential functions of her job. The Americans with Disabilities Act only requires accommodations...more