ADA

OK to terminate disabled employee if effort to accommodate is unsuccessful

05/20/2013

Employers are supposed to reasonably accommodate an employee’s disability so he or she can perform the essential functions of the job. Some workers take that as a guarantee that—should they develop a disability—their employer must find a position the employee can do. That’s simply not the case.

Central Valley fast food firm forks over $100K for bias

05/20/2013

Merced-based Alia Corp., which owns 20 McDonald’s franchises in the Central Valley, will pay $100,000 to settle a former supervisor’s disability discrimination suit. The man claimed Alia illegally demoted him because of his intellectual disability.

Vacuum company sucks it up, agrees to settle bias suit

05/10/2013

Waconia-based Applied Vacuum Technologies (AVT) has settled a disability discrimination suit with the EEOC. A former employee had filed the complaint after the company terminated him.

Court: Trial for mentally ill worker denied transfer

05/06/2013

A court has OK’d a trial for a mentally ill worker who was turned down when he asked to be transferred to another supervisor. The man blamed his subsequent discharge on a failure to accommodate.

Disabled employee always calling in sick?

05/01/2013

Disabled employees may be entitled to some time off as an accommodation, but there are limits. If an employee is constantly absent when his disability makes it impossible to work, you may be able to discharge him. That’s because attendance can be an essential function of a job—and constantly missing work may show that the employee can’t perform that essential function.

USERRA: Accommodate returning vets–but insist that they follow reinstatement rules

05/01/2013

Employees who serve in the military are entitled to return to their jobs after their active duty ends and otherwise receive special consideration for service. But those rights have limits.

ADA: Employee with insomnia isn’t necessarily disabled

04/30/2013

Pushed to do more with less, many employers are asking employees to work longer hours. That can cause workers to lose sleep and may even result in diagnoses of insomnia. But not everyone who is sleep deprived and takes medication to sleep is disabled and entitled to reasonable accommodations, such as a shorter workday.

Think odd employee might benefit from mental exam? Talk to a lawyer first

04/30/2013

Let’s face it: Some employees are a bit strange. Sometimes, their behavior may even be an indication of serious mental health problems. But before you rush to demand the employee get counseling or see a doctor, remember that the ADA prohibits such requests unless there is a clear business necessity for the exam.

Court: ADA class-actions generally won’t fly

04/25/2013

Because the ADA requires employees to show they are disabled based on individual restrictions, a class-action lawsuit against an employer isn’t appropriate in most cases.

Assess ADA disability against average ability