ADA

Fed contractors must use new disability form

05/21/2020

The Labor Department’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs has updated the form federal contractors must use to allow job applicants to voluntarily self-identify that they have a disability.

OK to discipline for leaving work ‘feeling sick’

05/14/2020

If a worker tells her supervisor she’s having a flareup of a serious health condition and must leave, that may invoke the FMLA, the ADA or both. But a run-of-the-mill, “I feel sick and am going home” declaration isn’t protected activity.

No, you can’t order a blanket ban on certain meds

04/30/2020

At the heart of the ADA is the rule that reasonable accommodations must be based on an individualized assessment of a disabled employee’s medical condition and the requirements of his or her job. Employers cannot make blanket determinations that disabled workers are unable to perform their jobs based on their diagnoses—or the medicines they use.

EEOC: CDC safety guidelines don’t violate ADA

04/28/2020

Employers are free to ask employees and job applicants if they have symptoms of COVID-19, screen them for illness and make them stay home if they test positive, according to the EEOC.

Don’t let assistive technology affect hiring

04/23/2020

Warn hiring managers not to disregard an applicant because assistive technologies indicate he or she might be disabled. Those systems provide evidence of bias that can be used against you in court.

Court: You must accommodate medical pot

04/02/2020

A recent New Jersey Supreme Court decision should remind employers everywhere that medical marijuana is a fluid area of the law. If the court’s legal reasoning takes hold nationwide, you may be forced to accommodate your employees’ legal cannabis use.

Ditch existing accommodation at your peril

04/02/2020

If a disabled employee has successfully used a simple, informal accommodation for years, don’t summarily make him stop without discussing the decision. In fact, before removing any accommodation, you must engage in the ADA’s interactive reasonable accommodation process.

Passed probation despite disability? She is qualified

03/19/2020

Sometimes, new hires don’t reveal they have a disability until after they have successfully completed a probationary period. By definition, that means they are qualified for the job.

ADA prohibits bias for disability association

03/19/2020

The ADA doesn’t require employers to provide time off or other accommodations so healthy employees can care for a disabled family member. However, courts have consistently ruled that employers can’t discriminate against an employee because of her association with a disabled person.

Attendance essential, even for disabled employees

03/12/2020

Feel free to require regular attendance from all your employees, even those who are disabled. Simply missing work or refusing to follow rules for requesting time off can be grounds for firing.

ADA