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ADA

Employee leave: When must you grant it to accommodate disabilities?

03/10/2015
The goal of leave is “to provide job-protected time in order to enable a qualified employee with a disability to manage his or her medical impairment and ultimately remain in the workforce.” Follow these guidelines when granting it.

Act fast to fix computer glitch that threatens to compromise disability accommodation

02/24/2015
If a technology problem interferes with a disabled employee’s attempt to use medical leave, fix the problem fast. Otherwise, you may be liable for claims that you violated the ADA’s disability accommodations ­requirements.

You choose the reasonable accommodation

02/24/2015
It’s up to the employer to choose which ADA reasonable accommodation it wants to offer a disabled employee. If the worker wants a different accommodation, he’s out of luck.

Allergic worker or boss’s dog: Who needs to go?

02/11/2015
Q. Our owner brings her dog to work every day. We have a new employee that just found out—due to health-related issues—that she is allergic to the dog. The owner said she won’t terminate the employee, but the employee needs to decide whether she wants to stay or not, because the dog is not going anywhere …

Texas ADA payouts nearly doubled over past five years

02/10/2015
A recent study of EEOC ADA en­­force­­ment actions has revealed that Texas employers paid out $9.7 million to employees in 2013. That’s up sharply from $5.4 million in 2009.

Beware slow-to-emerge need for accommodation

02/10/2015
Can you reject an applicant you previously agreed to hire because you discover a disability you don’t think you can accommodate? Maybe—but expect a court fight.

When to use leave as an accommodation for disabled workers

02/09/2015
The U.S. Department of Labor-sponsored Job Accommodation Network has published new guidance on using leave as an accommodation under the ADA.

EEOC under fire for wellness stance

02/05/2015
A parade of witnesses before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee on Jan. 29 called on the EEOC to relax enforcement of rules that keep some employers from using voluntary wellness plans to control health care costs.

Tell bosses: Don’t query medical appointments

02/02/2015
Warn supervisors that they shouldn’t comment on the time that employees take off for medical treatments. If the underlying medical condition is a disability under the ADA, such comments may come back later to haunt the employer.

ACA vs. ADA: EEOC loses on wellness programs

01/13/2015
The EEOC has lost its bid for a preliminary injunction that would have prevented a major employer from withholding funds from the Health Savings Accounts of employees who refused to participate in a wellness program.