ADA

Never tolerate harassment on the basis of disability—especially by supervisors

03/02/2020

Disabled applicants are not just entitled to reasonable accommodations for their disabilities. Employers also owe them a work environment free of disability-related harassment. You must warn supervisors against tolerating that kind of harassment—or worse, participating in it.

Beware two ADA traps: Perceiving obesity as a disability, making applicants pay for exams

02/25/2020

Employers that cite obesity as a presumptive disability and then require an applicant to prove that he is not disabled are violating disability discrimination laws, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled.

Comply with the law when requiring employees to work overtime

02/18/2020

In general, employers have the right to require employees to work overtime, as long as they are properly paid for the additional hours. However, that right is not unlimited.

Employer entitled to know nature of disability

02/07/2020

When the EEOC invites an employer to settle a case alleging disability discrimination, the employer can demand to know the specific disability the applicant or employee has. That’s the conclusion a federal judge reached in a recent case.

Short-lived, minor illness doesn’t qualify as disability under FEHA

02/03/2020

The California Fair Employment and Housing Act outlaws disability discrimination. It includes definitions of disability, including physical disabilities that affect the digestive system if the condition limits a major life activity. But that doesn’t mean that every minor or transient digestive upset qualifies for protection, as the following case shows.

Steer clear of assumptions about disability

01/30/2020

The EEOC is aggressively going after employers that single out disabled workers based on unfounded assumptions about the kind of work they can and cannot do.

Goodwill didn’t show any to disabled NYC janitor

01/28/2020

Goodwill Industries of Greater New York and Northern New Jersey has agreed to pay a former janitor $65,000 to settle charges of disability discrimination.

Being short probably not an ADA-qualifying disability

01/23/2020

Merely being shorter than most people is not enough on its own to be classified as disabled under the ADA. To qualify, an applicant or employee who is short in stature would have to show that her condition substantially impairs a major life activity.

Limited duty may be reasonable accommodation

01/15/2020

A limited-duty assignment may be a reasonable accommodation, even if the worker doesn’t like the change. It’s not disability discrimination.

Flu season is here! FMLA, ADA and objections to vaccines

12/20/2019

Influenza season is well underway, and there is every indication that the flu bug will bite lots of workers this winter. Many will need time off to recover. That raises two important questions: Is that leave protected by the FMLA? Can employees lawfully refuse to get flu shots?

ADA