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, we saw a number of federal court decisions involving disability discrimination claims from teachers who requested full-time remote work as an accommodation for compromised immune systems or other...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a summary judgment award on an employee’s failure-to-accommodate claim. The Court’s decision focused on the employer’s improperly narrow delineation of the...more
In EEOC v. Charter Communications, LLC, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals recently held an employee with a disability may be entitled to an Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) accommodation to get to work when attendance...more
The Americans with Disabilities Act requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations that allow disabled employees to perform the essential functions of their jobs. Over the years, federal appellate courts have reached...more
Several courts have held that an employer violates the ADA simply by refusing to provide a reasonable accommodation regardless of whether the refusal adversely affects the employee. Put another way, these courts hold that the...more
If disabled employees are no longer able to perform the essential functions of their job even with reasonable accommodation, under the Americans with Disabilities Act the employer must consider transferring the workers to an...more
The retail setting is a particularly difficult one in which to make accommodations. This is because retail employees engage in a host of different duties that require all manner of physical activities. Those who are...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
Since Congress passed the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in 1990 and state legislatures enacted their own protections requiring employers to accommodate disabled workers, courts have grappled with the reasonableness of...more
Prior to the advent of social media and especially the #MeToo movement, employers were generally comfortable drawing a bright line between what employees did on their own time and workplace misconduct. ...more
A good job description can equip an employer with the best possible workforce available. Inaccuracies and oversights, however, can entangle your company in litigation for years. Bethany Salvatore and Bryant Andrews talk us...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: The D.C. Circuit recently revived a single-leg amputee’s claim that his former employer failed to accommodate his disability by refusing his request for a classroom aide....more
Holding that full-time presence at the workplace is not always an essential job function, on July 17, 2018, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit reversed summary judgment in favor of the employer in an Americans...more
A recent decision from the District Court for the District of Nebraska serves as a reminder that overtime can be an essential job function. See McNeil v. Union Pac. R.R._ 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 85250. On May 21, 2018, Union...more
Q: Can I require an employee to do work while the employee is on FMLA leave? What if the employee volunteers to work while on leave? A: Under most circumstances, employees should not be required or permitted to perform...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
Failure to accommodate claims under the Americans with Disabilities Act frequently stand or fall on a determination of the essential functions of the position at issue. Since the ADA requires an employer to provide a...more
On February 21, 2018, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals held an attorney could perform the essential functions of her job while working remotely for a ten-week period. As a result, when the employer refused to permit the...more
On October 16, 2017, the Supreme Court rejected an employee’s petition for review of a decision in Stevens v Rite Aid Corporation. Stevens sued under the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) for alleged discriminatory...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
Many employers offer light duty programs to employees who are temporarily disabled. Reasonable accommodation obligations imposed by California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) may come into play when administering...more
From agoraphobia to xenophobia, employers should be well aware that there is a long list of phobias—including more common disorders such as social anxiety disorder—that can be considered disabilities under the Americans with...more
On March 21, 2017, the Second Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a former Rite Aid pharmacist’s claim against Rite Aid for refusing to accommodate his “needle phobia.” In 2011, Rite Aid altered the job description for its...more
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently ruled against a failure-to accommodate claim brought by a customer service employee who was fired for poor performance. According to the court, the former employee, who suffered...more