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ADA

EEOC publishes new guidance on Pregnancy Discrimination Act

08/14/2014
The EEOC has issued new guidance tying Pregnancy Dis­­crimi­­na­­tion Act requirements to the broader disability definition in the ADA Amendments Act.

Employee must address ADA, FMLA thresholds up front

07/31/2014
Here’s a case that may help you get an ADA or FMLA case dismissed quickly when an employee is acting as her own attorney. A worker has to allege up front in her lawsuit that her employer has enough employees to be covered by the FMLA or the ADA.

Telecommuting a reasonable accommodation?

07/15/2014
Q. We have an employee with a disability who has requested to work from home part time as an accommodation for her disability. Are we required to grant this request?

OK to terminate if ADA accommodation fails

06/24/2014
Sometimes, a disabled employee simply cannot perform his or her job to the standards you legitimately expect. If you make reasonable accommodations and try to find a way for the employee to successfully perform the essential functions of the job, you have done all you are required to do. You can terminate the employee for poor performance.

Demand the medical info you need to set up ADA accommodations

06/18/2014

Disabled employees are entitled to reasonable accommodations, which must be decided on the basis of an interactive discussion between the employer and employee. Some employees, perhaps sensitive about their medical histories, try to limit the information their employers can see. That can compromise the interactive process.

When accommodating pregnant employee, make sure measures truly relate to pregnancy

06/16/2014

Under the ADA and state discrimination law, pregnant women may be entitled to accommodations at work. For example, if a pregnancy involves medical complications, an employee may be entitled to a reduced schedule, shift changes or temporary assignments to accommodate lifting restrictions. However, requests for changes that are only tangentially related to a pregnancy don’t have to be honored.

Take that! EEOC says you may have to let workers steal

06/16/2014

We all understand that granting reasonable accommodations to disabled workers (as required under the ADA) may include providing employees with a new chair or granting more flexible break periods. But a new case last month says employers may have to allow a worker to steal their merchandise as a reasonable accommodation. Really?

Bypass ADA interactive accommodation process at your peril

06/09/2014

When it comes ADA disability discrimination claims, employers have to think about litigation as soon as an employee self-identifies as disabled and brings up potential reasonable accommodations. If a supervisor or HR professional refuses to even consider accommodations, it all but guarantees that the case won’t be dismissed at the summary judgment stage, potentially leading to a jury trial.

Is telecommuting a more ‘reasonable’ ADA accommodation?

06/02/2014
A recent court case raises a growing issue: Just because a company has a building, do workers need to show up there to get their jobs done?

Employer gets to choose ADA reasonable accommodation

06/02/2014
Sometimes, there are several ways to  accommodate a disabled employee. As long as the one the em­­­­ployer chooses is reasonable, the employee can’t claim an ADA violation.