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ADA

Asking for test results is OK in cases of business necessity

04/01/2005
When an employee encounters a medical problem, don’t fear asking for more details or requiring medical tests, as long as you can prove that your requests are focused on whether the …

Assist ailing employees without fear of triggering ADA

04/01/2005
Issue: Who is considered “disabled” under ADA’s definition?
Risk: Employees earn ADA protection if you regard them as disabled, even if their condition doesn’t rise to the law’s definition of …

More reason to crack down on disability-related jokes and teasing

03/01/2005
When training supervisors, stress that they must work harder to prevent workplace intolerance toward employees with physical or mental impairments.
Reason: More courts are allowing employees to use
the …

Cite Return-to-Work Tests in Drug/Alcohol Policy

03/01/2005

Q. One of our employees was recently in jail for traffic and drug violations. Before he returns to work, what guidelines can we follow to ensure that he’s drug-free? Will we be discriminating if we require a drug test before allowing him back on site, even though we didn’t require this test when he was hired? —M.Z., Washington

Don’t let managers hire or fire based on family health costs

03/01/2005
Issue: Can you terminate, or refuse to hire, people based on their impact to your health plan?
Risk: Employees have two paths to sue you for such cost-trimming employment actions. …

Employee can’t ‘play nice’ with others? He may be ‘disabled’

03/01/2005
Issue: Which mental impairments are considered “disabilities” covered by the ADA?
Risk: An employee’s troubles interacting with co-workers may, by itself, allow the employee to claim disability status.
Action: …

Scent or sensitivity? ‘Bad smell’ accommodation isn’t automatic

02/01/2005
Say you have an employee who complains that certain workplace smells make him or her sick. If the employee asks for an accommodation to block out the offending odors, must you …

ADA: How far must you go to ‘reasonably’ accommodate?

02/01/2005
THE LAW. The Americans with Dis-abilities Act (ADA) says employers can’t discriminate against employees who have physical or mental disabilities, and you must help them perform the critical functions of …

Well-meaning assistance won’t always mean you view worker as ‘disabled’

01/01/2005
If your organization regards an employee as having a
“disability”, even if his or her condition doesn’t rise to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)’s definition, your actions could cause …

Illness controlled by medicine can still be a ‘disability’

01/01/2005
Issue: Whether employees are considered “disabled” if their ailments can be kept in check by corrective treatments.
Risk: Many employers wrongly assume that corrective treatments wipe out an employee’s ADA …