ADA

Pre-Employment Testing

06/01/2010

HR Law 101: Many organizations use pre-employment tests to screen applicants. But be aware of the risks involved. Unless you can demonstrate that a test measures job-related qualities and fulfills a business necessity, you could be exposing your organization to charges of discrimination …

Bizarre, nonsensical lawsuit? Vigorous response still required

05/28/2010

It doesn’t take much to get a lawsuit started. Sometimes a former employee—or perhaps even a total stranger—will walk into the nearest state or federal courthouse and ask to fill out a complaint form. The court is required to accept it and send it on. Regardless of its apparent merit, respond aggressively to it. If you don’t act, you risk a default judgment.

Waste elimination problems may be ADA disability

05/26/2010

Employees may be disabled under the ADA if surgery or another medical condition forces them to use the bathroom frequently. The condition affects a major life activity—elimination of wastes.

How to write effective and legal job descriptions

05/25/2010

Job descriptions are the cornerstone of communication between managers and their employees. After all, it’s hard for supervisors to measure job effectiveness during performance reviews unless they and the employee both know what’s expected. Here’s how to do job descriptions right.

No way to accommodate an employee’s disability? Then you don’t have to

05/24/2010

Employers are obligated to engage in an interactive accommodations process when disabled employees request an accommodation and one is possible. But if you’re confident it’s not possible to accommodate the disabled worker—that he would never be able to perform the job’s essential functions—then you don’t have to go through the motions.

You don’t have to create employee’s ‘perfect’ job when accommodating disability

05/17/2010

Some disabled employees go to great lengths to hide their conditions—perhaps out of pride or fear that they’ll be discriminated against. They may look long and hard for a perfect job that allows them to work without any sort of accommodation. But what happens if the disabled employee who has, in effect, managed to secretly “self-accommodate” is moved to another position? Can she request that she move back to her old, perfect position?

When creating job descriptions, focus on ‘essential functions’ employees really perform

05/10/2010

Courts hearing ADA cases generally trust employers to establish which job functions are essential and which ones are not. But that doesn’t mean you can trump up job descriptions with “essential functions” that are never performed. Courts sometimes see that as a way to avoid having to reasonably accommodate disabled employees. They’ll only consider those functions that employees perform in reality.

OK to test for alcohol under ADA?

05/06/2010

Q. We suspect some employees come to work drunk. Are workplace alcohol tests lawful under the ADA?

Shouldn’t applicants disclose disabilities?

05/06/2010

Q. We recently extended an employment offer to someone who was later determined to be unable to perform the essential functions of the position because of a visual impairment. As a result, we wasted a significant amount of time and missed the opportunity to hire other qualified individuals. Aren’t workers obligated under the ADA to disclose to an employer that they suffer from a disability?

Philly area McDonald’s will pay disabled worker $90,000

04/28/2010

The franchisee that operates a McDonald’s restaurant on City Line Avenue in Philadelphia has settled with the EEOC, resolving a disability discrimination complaint brought by a former employee with developmental disabilities.

ADA