[LEGAL MARKETING MOMENTS] When Hosting Webinars, Do This To Help Your Attendees and Your Attendance
No-fault attendance policies may be on a watchlist for the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. A recent matter before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, EEOC v. Eberspaecher North America Inc.,...more
Do you have a “no fault” attendance policy or some other way in which employees get points for absences? If so, be careful. A recent Eleventh Circuit matter, EEOC v. Eberspaecher North America, Inc. suggests that the Equal...more
Mental illness can cause problems at work, and keep employees from getting help. If my experience is typical (and it may not be), it seems that a significant percentage of employers’ legal and Human Resources problems come...more
Last week, New York State enacted legislation that bans “no-fault” attendance policies. The new law, which will take effect in 90 days, prohibits employers from penalizing workers based on “use of any legally protected...more
Many companies have no-fault attendance policies where employees are automatically issued “points” or “occurrences” for unexcused absences and tardies. These policies generally allow exceptions for certain absences, such as...more
The Third Circuit Court of Appeals recently identified the difference between merely “requesting” Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) leave and “requesting and reporting” FMLA leave. At issue in the case was the employer’s...more
The EEOC has long waged war against “no-fault” or rigid employment policies. No-fault attendance policies penalize employees by issuing them points (also known as occurrences) for absences, late arrivals and early departures....more
Although much of the U.S. workforce is increasingly teleworking in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, when employers return to business as usual, handling employee absences and leaves will continue to be a challenging issue....more
While it’s true that acts of generosity sometimes backfire on those who offer them, the Court’s ruling in Higgins v. Union Pac. R.R. Co., No. 18-1902 (8th Cir. July 24, 2019) shows this is not always the case. In Higgins, the...more
In the second episode of this two-part series, John Stretton and Rachel Mandel discuss the complexities surrounding the Family and Medical Leave Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act, including no fault attendance...more
Job-protected leave continues to be the most common accommodation requested by employees under the Americans with Disabilities Act. For employers, the question remains at what point does the amount of work missed end the...more
Recent decisions from the Second, Fifth, and Eighth Circuit Courts of Appeals exemplify the growing consensus amongst courts that even employees with a disability are generally required to comply with company attendance...more
“You have to show up for work—it’s a part of your job.” Attendance at the workplace is an essential work function in an ADA case. But is it really anymore? With technology, some would argue that many jobs can be done from...more
In Wolf v. Lowe’s Companies, Inc., No. 4:16-CV-01560 (March 13, 2018), United States District Judge Alfred H. Bennett of the Southern District of Texas granted Lowe’s motion for summary judgment on a former sales employee’s...more
In the recent case of Guzman v. Brown County, No. 16-3599 (March 7, 2018), the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a district court’s grant of summary judgment to an employer on claims brought under the Family and...more
Here’s a puzzle for you. How would you handle it? Mary Beth is a nurse for a local hospital and has been diagnosed with cancer and asthma. 1. She is certified for FMLA leave for her cancer and asthma; 2. She incurs...more
Many of our clients have no fault attendance policies by which the employees are assessed a point or half of a point for each tardy, absence or for leaving their shift early. Once the employee meets the required number of...more
On July 6, 2017, a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit reiterated that physical attendance in the workplace is an essential function of most jobs and emphasized this is particularly...more
In managing employee attendance, be careful about policies that suggest automatic termination after a certain number of absences as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) believes such policies violate the...more
Attendance point systems undoubtedly have appeal. These policies — often referred to as “no fault attendance policies” because they assign points to absences regardless of the cause — take the subjectivity out of...more
In recent administrative actions, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has taken the position that regular attendance is not an essential job function under the Americans with Disabilities Act. The agency views...more
Last month in EEOC v. Ford Motor Co., 782 F.3d 753 (6th Cir. 2015) (en banc), the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit found that a Ford employee was not qualified for her job under the ADA because she was not...more
Employers often grapple with what constitutes a reasonable accommodation under the American with Disabilities Act (“ADA”). This issue becomes increasingly complex when evaluating whether telecommuting is an appropriate and...more
Reversing an earlier panel decision, the Sixth Circuit has held that an employee who was unable to regularly and consistently attend work was not a qualified individual with a disability under the Americans with Disabilities...more
Well, phew. We like when legal developments we believe raise troubling questions with problematic implications later develop into something seemingly more rational based on the intersection of law and logic. One such pleasant...more