ADA

Appeal? Think twice about fighting losing battles

05/05/2022

In July 2021, we reported on a case in which a fired Walmart employee with Down syndrome won a disability discrimination lawsuit. A jury ordered the retailer to rehire her with back pay—and awarded her $125 million in damages (an amount later capped at $300,000 under Title VII). Now Walmart has appealed.

FMLA ending? Prepare to offer ‘ADA leave’

05/05/2022

Employers are required to reinstate workers who are ready to return from FMLA leave. Often, that’s contingent on a health care professional’s assessment that the employee is well enough to perform his or her job duties. But what if the employee can’t pass a fitness-for-duty exam?

Cost of an unwanted birthday party: $450,000

04/28/2022

Pro tip for managers: Listen to your employees! It generally makes for a more harmonious and productive workplace. In the following case, it could have prevented an unforced error that wound up costing an employer a six-figure jury award.

Document all accommodation conversations

04/14/2022

Here’s the best way to prevent (or win) a lawsuit claiming you failed to follow the ADA’s interactive accommodations rules: Document every conversation, email, text or phone call related to disability accommodations. Create a chronological log showing what the employee requested, when and how you responded.

Beware medical inquiries before making job offer

03/24/2022

When hiring, asking the wrong question can be an expensive mistake. In one recent case, a worker who wasn’t even looking for a job walked away with a $75,000 payday because of a prospective employer’s ill-conceived question.

Disabled new hire? Prepare to grant time off

03/17/2022

If a new employee reveals what may be a disability and asks for time off, you have to consider that request as you would any other request for a reasonable accommodation. That’s true even if the request comes shortly after you make the job offer.

Accommodate covid-related disabilities

03/17/2022

Now that the pandemic seems to be loosening its grip and something resembling pre-covid life begins to take shape, your organization may be considering bringing more workers back into an office setting. Some employees will welcome the move. Others, however, may seek disability accommodations for the first time. Here’s how to handle covid-related requests for reasonable accommodations.

Yes, covid-19 may qualify as an ADA disability

03/10/2022

Generally, a short-lived illness isn’t considered an ADA disability. But now a federal court has ruled that an employee with covid-19 rather than the common flu may be covered by the ADA. That means firing him for missing work instead of reasonably accommodating the absence violates the ADA.

Prepare to justify post-exam employment decisions

03/03/2022

The ADA strictly limits when employers can require applicants and employees to undergo medical exams. Following an exam, any adverse employment action—disciplining or firing a current employee or refusing to hire an applicant—must be justified as being job-related and consistent with business necessity.

Train bosses to avoid disability bias in hiring

01/27/2022

The EEOC, which enforces many of the nation’s anti-discrimination laws, is aggressively going after employers that put roadblocks in the way of hiring disabled people. Stay ahead of the feds by ensuring hiring managers know how the law protects disabled applicants.

ADA