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ADA

Layoffs and union contracts: When seniority collides with disability, seniority prevails

08/06/2018
When conducting layoffs, some employers give preference to more experienced workers, letting them keep their jobs while less senior workers must go. Disabled employees who get bumped may claim they should have been given preference, keeping their jobs as a reasonable accommodation.

Slower pace not a reasonable accommodation

08/06/2018
Employers are supposed to offer reasonable accommodations so disabled employees can perform the essential functions of their jobs. That doesn’t mean, however, that disabled employees can insist on lower production standards or the ability to do their jobs at their own pace.

Tyler, Texas pulmonary practice sued, questionnaire violated ADA

08/06/2018
A medical practice in Tyler, Texas faces an EEOC lawsuit alleging it fired a woman after she filled out a questionnaire that required employees to disclose past surgeries, injuries and disability ratings.

Reasonable accommodation could be called retaliation

08/02/2018
If you accommodate a disabled employee, but the accommodation winds up adversely affecting the employee instead, you could get sued for retaliation.

When discussing ADA accommodations, track every offer and counter-offer

08/01/2018
If a worker refuses to accept an offered accommodation, the employer is free to end the accommodations process—which may even mean the employee loses her job.

Weigh several disability accommodations

07/30/2018
The ADA requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations so disabled workers can perform the essential functions of their jobs. If a worker sues, he has an opportunity to conduct discovery and come up with other possible accommodations that were never considered before.

No, you can’t make staff divulge their meds

07/19/2018
The EEOC has filed a lawsuit against a Texas employer that requires all its employees to report every medication they take, both prescription and over-the-counter drugs.

Employee’s disability doesn’t give him a free pass to break rules

07/13/2018
Disabled workers are entitled to reasonable accommodations so they can perform their jobs, and freedom from harassment based on their disability. Neither of those protections means disabled workers can’t be criticized or punished for workplace behavior that breaks the rules.

ADA requires focusing on ability, not diagnosis

07/05/2018
At the core of the ADA is a philosophy that disabled workers must be judged by their actual ability to perform the job they seek or hold, with or without a reasonable accommodation.

Cost of blind faith in medical test: $4.4 million

06/28/2018
A $4.4 million hit to the corporate checking account just reminded an Illinois employer that the ADA requires an individualized assessment of disabled employees’ ability to perform their jobs.