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ADA

If absenteeism not disability-related, feel free to discipline

11/01/2010

You should hold disabled employees to the same behavioral standards as other employees, unless there is a good disability-related reason to deviate from the rules. For example, if you set strict time limits for lunches and authorized breaks, there is no reason to give disabled employees more time unless allowing more time is a legitimate reasonable accommodation.

Leave as a disability accommodation: Are your policies compliant?

11/01/2010

The EEOC has sued Princeton Hospital, alleging that its leave-of-absence policy violates the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act. The hospital requires employees to return to work within seven days after their FMLA leave expires, regardless of whether they are disabled. The suit alleges that the hospital refused to allow additional leave as an accommodation in violation of the law.

When showing up for work is essential, you don’t have to accommodate with lax schedule

10/29/2010
Employers naturally expect employees to show up on a regular basis, unless there’s an illness or emergency.But some employees have medical or other conditions that cause sporadic attendance. If they claim a disability, then they must be able to prove they can perform a job’s essential functions with or without reasonable accommodations.

 

As the EEOC steps up ADA enforcement, it’s time to review policies

10/28/2010

The EEOC projects the number of private-sector charges to exceed 100,000 by the end of fiscal year 2010. The increase is due in part to the additional statutory authority it gained with the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act of 2008 (ADAAA). Given this trend, employers should review their ADA and medical policies to ensure they are in compliance with the ADAAA.

Fitness-for-duty exams: When can they be used?

10/15/2010
We’ve all tussled with sending employees to fitness-for-duty exams when returning from an injury or illness. When are they the right decision? When do they create liability? As this case shows, it’s best to let the doctor make the right call …

Make sure managers know laws against employee discrimination

10/12/2010

Last year, U.S. employees filed the second highest number of EEOC complaints claiming they suffered discrimination at work. You know that U.S. anti-discrimination laws require treating all applicants and employees equally. But do your organization’s supervisors understand the relevant laws? Pass along this primer on federal anti-bias laws to make sure your compliance efforts start right on the front line.

Disabled vet charges nepotism at Bay Pines VA

10/12/2010
Disabled veteran Tracy Kendall’s odyssey in pursuit of an engineering technician job at Bay Pines VA Medical Center near St. Petersburg has taken him from mopping floors to the home of the head of the Department of Veterans Affairs—but it still hasn’t landed him the job.

Don’t delay reasonable accommodations decision

10/12/2010

Employees who are disabled are entitled to reasonable accommodations. Employers and employees are supposed to talk about possible accommodations in what’s called the interactive accommodations process. An unreasonable delay in the process may amount to an ADA violation.

What’s our ADA liability if an employee never informed us he needed accommodation?

10/12/2010
Q. An employee recently resigned from our company. In his resignation letter, he told us that he was disappointed that we were unable to accommodate his sleep apnea … However, he never told us until he resigned that he suffered from any medical condition, including sleep apnea. How are we supposed to accommodate a medical condition that we don’t know about?

6th Circuit’s surprise call: Pregnancy ‘impairments’ are disabilities

10/08/2010

The ADA expressly excludes pregnancy as a disability. The law says so, and I’ve always believed it to be true. But now a new decision has turned that notion on its head—and that may mean you’ll have to make some changes to your policies.