“You Want More Time Off?” – Dealing with Employees’ Medical Leave Requests Under the FMLA and ADA
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) is tasked with administrative enforcement of a variety of employment discrimination laws, including the Americans with Disabilities Act as amended (the “ADAAA”). The...more
Just this month, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held that even temporary health conditions without long-term effects may qualify as disabilities protected by the federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). While this...more
Health Care Provider Failed to Hire and Provide Reasonable Accommodation to Qualified Applicant for Greeter Position, Federal Agency Claims - MINNEAPOLIS – North Memorial Health violated civil rights law when it failed to...more
Joining the other federal appellate panels to consider the issue, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit held that the Americans with Disabilities Amendments Act (ADAAA) did not alter or erode the understanding that...more
Supermarket Fired Deli Clerk Because of Her Disability, Federal Agency Charged - FRESNO, Calif. - Local grocery outlet PAQ, Inc., doing business as Rancho San Miguel Markets, has agreed to pay $100,000 to settle a...more
The recent passing of George H. W. Bush is a fitting moment to reflect upon one of his most enduring legacies in the sphere of domestic policy: the Americans with Disabilities Act, which he signed into law on July 26, 1990....more
Seyfarth Synopsis: For the first time since the enactment in 2008 of the ADA Amendments Act (ADAAA), which broadened the definition of a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Ninth Circuit addressed,...more
Under the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 (“ADAAA”), an individual meets the requirement of being “regarded as” having a disability, and thus is protected from discrimination, where his or her employer believes that he or she is...more
The ADA Amendments Act of 2008 (ADAAA) made a number of significant changes to the definition of “disability.” Much of the change had to do with making it easier for an individual to establish that he or she has a disability...more
The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals (which addresses federal court cases brought in Wisconsin) has stated in the past that it does not intend to be a “super human resource department” for employers. Recent court decisions...more
As many employers know, the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 (ADAAA) broadened the scope of who may be considered disabled under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Indeed, through the ADAAA, Congress sought to make it...more
Trucking Company Refused to Hire Veteran Because He Uses a Service Dog, Federal Agency Charges - JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- CRST Expedited Inc., a national trucking company, violated federal law when it failed to accommodate,...more
In 2009, Congress passed the Americans With Disabilities Amendments Act (ADAAA), unquestionably expanding the definition of a disability under the ADA and, for all practical purposes in most cases, shifting the focus of...more
Obesity is still a hot topic both in our health conscious culture and in our courtrooms where we continue to see ADAAA claims based on the notion that an employer fired an employee because the employee was obese. After the...more
Obesity does not meet the definition of a “disability” under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) for either the discrimination or “regarded as” provisions of the statute, a panel of the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals...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
In June of last year, we pondered whether obesity is a mere physical characteristic or a disability protected by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) as now amended by the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act...more
In Morriss v. BNSF Railway Company, the Eighth Circuit recently held that obesity that is not caused by an underlying physiological condition is not a covered “impairment” for purposes of the Americans with Disabilities Act...more
Once a conditional offer of employment is given, the Americans with Disabilities Act permits employers to require a pre-hire medical exam as a final condition of employment. If the exam reveals medical issues that would...more
A study released by the Center for Disease Control in August 2012 estimates that 32 percent of adults in Alabama are obese. Alabama regularly appears in the Top Five of the list of “heaviest states,” currently weighing in at...more
Imagine you are the Hiring Manager for a distribution warehouse and have just begun interviewing applicants for a materials handler position. The first candidate enters the room, standing at a height of 5’4”, weighing more...more