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Telecommuting › Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) › Essential Functions

Telecommuting is an employment relationship whereby employees do not commute to a central office location, but instead work remotely using technology to communicate and share information with colleagues and... more +
Telecommuting is an employment relationship whereby employees do not commute to a central office location, but instead work remotely using technology to communicate and share information with colleagues and employers. Telecommuting arrangements often vary depending on the workplace. In some arrangements, employees may never come into a central office. While in others, employees may only telecommute a few days per week or month.  Telecommuting can lead to greater employee satisfaction and productivity; however, some employers may find that working frequently outside the office diminishes team building and brainstorming. In addition, allowing telecommuting may implicate certain workplace legal issues.  less -
Bricker Graydon LLP

Is it Essential I Come Back to My Cubicle? Maybe.

Bricker Graydon LLP on

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

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP

How Employers Can Navigate Return to Office as Workers Seek Remote Accommodations

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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

Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete, LLP

Reasonable accommodation for driving to the office? Are you kidding?

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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

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,...

Fifth Circuit Weighs in for the First Time Since COVID-19 as to When Remote Work Can Be Reasonable Accommodation

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,... on

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

Eversheds Sutherland (US) LLP

The EEOC has provided “guidance” to telework and the ADA

Eversheds Sutherland (US) LLP on

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 Shaw LLP

Compliance Alert: The EEOC Announces Its Views On ADA, Title VII, and ADEA Considerations During The Pandemic

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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

Jaburg Wilk

Is Telecommuting a Reasonable Accommodation?

Jaburg Wilk on

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

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP

Eighth Circuit Says Employer Not Required to Follow Employee's Preference to Work From Home

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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

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP

“I Need to Work from Home” — Telecommuting May Be Your ADA Reasonable Accommodation Alternative

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP on

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

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP

Workplace Odors Can Provide Basis for Telecommuting Arrangement

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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

Mintz - Employment Viewpoints

Fifth Circuit Holds Reporting to Work Regularly is Essential Function of Attorney’s Job Under the ADA

Mintz - Employment Viewpoints on

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 Shaw LLP

Fifth Circuit Says Regular Attendance at Work is an Essential Function of Most Jobs

Seyfarth Shaw LLP on

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

Foley & Lardner LLP

Court of Appeals Affirms Woody Allen - When it Comes to Work, Showing Up Is Essential

Foley & Lardner LLP on

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

Littler

Telework Under The ADA & Other Nondiscrimination Laws

Littler on

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

Troutman Pepper

Telecommuting May Not Always Be a Reasonable Accommodation Under the ADA

Troutman Pepper on

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

Baker Donelson

Even Under the ADA, Some Jobs Require Being On-Site; Court of Appeals Decision Offers Lessons

Baker Donelson on

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

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP

Sixth Circuit Rejects EEOC's Demand for Telecommuting as ADA Accommodation

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Last year, a panel of the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals held 2-1 that the Americans with Disabilities Act required Ford Motor Company to allow a buyer with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) to possibly telecommute up to four...more

Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete, LLP

Is Telecommuting A Reasonable Accommodation, Or Is It Not?

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In the context of a lawsuit brought under the Americans with Disabilities Act, a recent court decision says that “regular attendance” is an essential function of the job. But what is “regular attendance”?...more

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,...

Employers Can Decide That Physical Presence at the Workplace is an Essential Function

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,... on

On April 10, 2015, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals issued its long-awaited en banc decision in Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Ford Motor Company following a vacated panel decision from April 2014 in which a...more

Mintz - Employment, Labor & Benefits...

En Banc Sixth Circuit Decision Holds that Telecommuting Was Not a Reasonable Accommodation Under the Americans with Disabilities...

Mintz - Employment, Labor & Benefits... on

Last Friday, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals sitting en banc held that telecommuting up to four days a week was not a reasonable accommodation under the ADA for a disabled Ford Motor Co. employee. The decision, EEOC v....more

Franczek P.C.

Sixth Circuit Holds Telecommuting Not a Reasonable Accommodation Where Regular and Predictable On-Site Job Attendance is an...

Franczek P.C. on

Courts have repeatedly recognized that “regular job attendance” is an essential function of most jobs that need not be altered in order to reasonably accommodate a disabled employee. This common sense notion, however, has...more

Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete, LLP

Thanks, Ford! Hard-Fought Win Against EEOC In ADA-Telecommuting Case Is Welcome News For All Employers

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Last Friday, the full U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit found in favor of Ford Motor Company in a disability discrimination lawsuit brought by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. ...more

Sherman & Howard L.L.C.

Unreasonably Sporadic Telecommuting

Sherman & Howard L.L.C. on

One year ago, we reported on the Sixth Circuit’s ruling that telecommuting could be a reasonable accommodation for a resale steel buyer at Ford suffering from irritable bowel syndrome. There, the employee requested to...more

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP

Fifth Circuit Finds Attendance to be Essential Job Function

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In recent years, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has taken the position that regular job attendance may not be an essential job function under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Under the ADA, employers are...more

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