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ADA

Obsessive-compulsive disorder and the ADA

11/13/2024
Obsessive-compulsive disorder is an anxiety disorder characterized by uncontrollable, reoccurring thoughts and behaviors, and it can interfere with the ability to perform one’s job.

DOL offers a framework for AI hiring decisions

10/21/2024
In conjunction with the Partnership on Employment & Accessible Technology, the Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy has a new publication and associated tools, AI & Inclusive Hiring Framework, both of which are geared toward hiring employees with disabilities.

Modify ADA process in unique scenarios

10/10/2024
The ADA requires employers to reasonably accommodate disabilities—if the employee asks. But what if the employee is intellectually challenged and doesn’t understand they must initiate the ADA process?

Accommodate employees with gender dysphoria

10/07/2024
Although gender dysphoria affects relatively few people, it can have a profound impact on those who do have the condition. It can be accompanied by anxiety, depression, eating disorders and substance abuse.

EEOC: ‘Fully healed’ return-to-work policy violates ADA

09/27/2024
Here’s a warning for employers that insist workers taking medical leave must be fully healed before returning to work. According to the EEOC, such a rule violates the ADA because it forecloses the possibility that disabled employees could perform the essential functions of their jobs with or without an accommodation.

Keep it Legal: Offer can’t be revoked for disability nondisclosure

09/27/2024
Most employers have a stipulation that specifies lying on an application as a dischargeable offense—a rule meant to prevent résumé fraud. But don’t apply it to someone who didn’t reveal a disability that you will have to reasonably accommodate.

Require supervisors to consult HR before removing reasonable accommodation

09/12/2024
Once an employer accepts and approves an employee’s request for a reasonable accommodation, it has essentially agreed that an accommodation was warranted. Think twice before removing that accommodation!

Twist: Disabled worker wants to work on-site, not from home

09/06/2024
Disabled employees are entitled to enjoy all “privileges of employment.” Excluding them from training, company events, team-building activities and other employment benefits may amount to disability discrimination. Thus, disability accommodations that deprive them of employment privileges may violate the ADA. Ordinarily, the employer gets to choose the accommodation it prefers, but there are limits, as this recent case shows.

CDC: More than 1 in 4 Americans have a disability

08/26/2024
A CDC statement said, “These findings underscore the fact that people with disabilities are a large part of every community and population. Many of us know, or are, someone with a disability, and disability inclusion is beneficial for all.”

Avoid the accommodations error that just cost Wells Fargo $22.1 million

08/26/2024
The ADA requires employers to engage in an interactive process with disabled employees to determine what accommodation, if any, will allow them to perform the essential functions of their jobs. It’s supposed to be a back-and-forth dialogue and it’s supposed to be fast. Delaying the interactive process or reaching an agreement and then slow-walking implementation is sure to spell legal trouble.