ADA

Yes, coming to work is an essential function

01/02/2018

Under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act, workers with disabilities are entitled to reasonable accommodations. But once their employers have accommodated them, they still need to meet the essential functions of their jobs.

ADA: Extended leave not always reasonable

01/02/2018

Draconian workplace rules that call for automatically firing workers who run out of leave have consistently been held to violate the ADA. That may be changing, at least for employers in Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin.

Employment law by the numbers: Know which laws count

12/20/2017

Businesses must stay abreast of an alphabet soup of federal laws—ADA, ADEA, FMLA and so forth—each with its own requirements. Further complicating matters, most states have their own laws that override the federal requirements. To comply, you first must know which laws apply to your business.

Be careful rescinding offer after medical exam

12/18/2017

Employers that withdraw a job offer following a pre-employment medical examination risk being sued. Counter by being able to point to a specific task or set of tasks the exam showed would be impossible for the applicant to perform.

How long must a light-duty reassignment go on?

12/13/2017

Q. An employee returned after a work-related injury with doctor restrictions. We put her in a light-duty job, but it’s been more than 90 days with no end in sight. She works a full eight-hour day, but not in the job we hired her for. What can we do?

Prepare to explain necessity of medical exams

12/13/2017

Employers that require all employees to undergo medical exams either annually or following injury or illness may have a hard time justifying their policies under the ADA.

ADA interactive accommodations process not required—if employee isn’t disabled

12/06/2017

Employers are supposed to engage with disabled workers and applicants in the ADA’s interactive accommodations process in order to arrive at reasonable accommodations. But what if the employer refuses—and it turns out the employee wasn’t actually disabled?

A matter of balance: Medical marijuana, the ADA and drug testing

12/04/2017

In Pennsylvania, case law says employers should balance an employee’s privacy interests against the need for random drug testing.

Are brutal hours really essential to the job? Failure-to-accommodate suit could test that

11/29/2017

In many organizations, it’s expected that exempt employees will routinely have to work more than the standard 40-hour workweek. What happens if an employee who has previously worked those long hours suddenly becomes disabled and can no longer put in 10 or 12 hours per day?

‘Boss-ectomy’ not what FEHA doctor ordered