ADA

Working overtime hours can be an essential function

09/14/2015

Working overtime can be an essential job function. If disabled employees can’t work overtime, you may not have to accommodate them.

FMLA or ADA request? Don’t let that derail legitimate discipline or termination decisions

09/10/2015

Firing someone right after she requests FMLA leave or an ADA accommodation can often trigger a lawsuit. But timing close alone won’t sink your chances of winning—as long as you have a valid business reason for discharging the employee that is unrelated to illness or disability.

Trio of EEOC charges leads San Antonio firm to settle

09/09/2015

San Antonio-based Taprite Fassco has settled gender, disability and retaliation charges leveled by a female quality control employee. Taprite Fassco manufactures carbon dioxide regulators for soda and beer dispensers.

It’s sometimes OK to fire disabled employee, but it’s a mistake to cite medical costs

09/09/2015

Before terminating someone who is disabled, make sure that you don’t inadvertently create a reason for them to sue you.

Employee quitting for medical reasons? Consider offering accommodation

09/01/2015

Employees who quit their jobs for “necessitous and compelling” reasons may still be eligible for unemployment compensation benefits. Quitting because of medical problems sometimes qualifies. That’s why employers should consider offering accommodations if an employee says he needs to quit for medical reasons. An accommodation offer may mean there’s no “necessitous and compelling” reason to quit.

Consider disabled employee’s request for accommodation–even if you think it’s futile

09/01/2015

Supervisors who ignore an employee’s initial oral request for a reasonable accommodation risk exposing their employer to liability if the employee quits and sues. Never dismiss such a request out of hand.

No formal ADA accommodation request required

08/26/2015

Employers can’t rely on the lack of a formal reasonable accommodations request as the basis for not providing one if it is obvious the employee is disabled and has informally indicated he needs help. There are no magic words required, no need to invoke the ADA, the Rehabilitation Act or state disability statutes.

Disability isn’t ‘get out of jail free’ card–it must be revealed before discipline

08/24/2015

Some workers who learn they’re about to be disciplined or even fired for poor behavior may try to use an alleged disability as an excuse. But if they never revealed before that they have a disability, it’s too late to try that tactic on the eve of being punushed.

Must we permit transitional work following off-duty injuries?

08/19/2015

Q. An employee was injured away from work. He is now demanding to return to work as an accommodation for his injuries, which he claims is a disability under both the ADA and Minnesota Human Rights Act. We do have a transitional work program, whereby we create work to aid workers injured on the job in returning to work. The work involves duties that we otherwise outsource, such as floor sweeping, etc. Our injured employee is not able to return to his prior position due to the physical nature of that job, and is now demanding that we provide him this sort of transitional work. Must we?

Unless you’re a doctor, don’t try medical diagnosis

08/17/2015

A Texas company has agreed to settle a disability bias suit filed by a former employee after the EEOC accused its HR department of playing doctor in violation of the ADA.

ADA