ADA

Managing disabilities: Accommodate–don’t dictate

09/05/2013

Too often, accommodating disabilities becomes a power struggle between the employee and the company. But, next time the decision is in your court, just remember this: Employees always have the greatest power of all because they can drag your company’s wallet and reputation into court.

FMLA expired and we haven’t heard from worker: Can we legally terminate?

09/03/2013

Q. One of our employees was injured on the job and has been on leave for almost six months now. Her eligibility for FMLA leave expired a couple of months ago and we haven’t received a response to the notice we sent her stating that her time off under worker’s compensation counts against any leave she may be entitled to. Can she legally be terminated and replaced?

When does a voluntary wellness program become involuntary?

09/03/2013

At what point is the financial incentive to participate in a wellness program or the penalty for nonparticipation so great as to render it involuntary? Perhaps more to the point, how does the EEOC define that tipping point?

Good news for supervisors, HR pros: No personal liability under Title VII

08/28/2013

While some federal and state laws allow employees to personally sue their supervisors or an HR professional, that’s not the case for Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. Only employers can be liable for discrimination covered by that section.

Employee represents herself? Be patient

08/28/2013

The best approach when faced with an employee who files her own lawsuit without a lawyer’s help is to exercise patience. In almost all cases, a judge will toss out the case as soon as he or she is convinced there’s nothing there.

You’re not Dr. Phil! Bosses and HR should manage–not label–employees’ problems

08/27/2013

Supervisors and HR sometimes use psychological lingo to describe employee behavior that they find annoying or disturbing. But watch out: That amateur armchair analysis can create legal headaches for your organization.

Track all ADA requests to establish timeline

08/22/2013

Track each request for ADA reasonable accommodations, along with your response. An employee’s right to sue over the denial begins as soon as it becomes obvious that her employer refused to accommodate her, and won’t be extended just because she keeps asking for an accommodation.

Can we fire admitted drug user, or should we offer time off for treatment?

08/20/2013

Q. We have an employee who has been performing poorly and who has shown up for work appearing to be intoxicated. In a discussion with a manager, the employee admitted that he was currently using cocaine and it was affecting his personal and work life. We haven’t done a drug test on the employee, given his admission of drug use. We want to fire the employee, but we aren’t sure if the FMLA or any other law requires us to give him time off to undergo treatment?

Not all FMLA mistakes will cost you in court

08/20/2013

What if your mistaken belief that an employee has a serious health condition prompts you to grant FMLA leave? Does she have any legal basis to sue? Probably not.

What should we do? Employee says he’s allergic to co-worker’s service dog

08/13/2013

Q. After making several accommodations for an employee who was recently diagnosed with epilepsy and assigned a service dog, another employee is now claiming he is allergic. Can we ask for medical documentation to confirm his allergy? And aside from moving him farther away from the dog, are there other accommodations we are required to make for him?

ADA