ADA

Employee behaving strangely? Think twice before urging her to seek counseling

09/13/2012

Do you have an employee you think is acting strangely? Do you think she might benefit from counseling? Before you tell her she needs to get help, consider that she just might try to sue you instead. That’s especially true if she refuses counseling and then loses her job.

ADA requires accommodation of customers with service dogs

09/10/2012

Under the ADA, customers or employees may bring service animals with them to work or to a public place like a restaurant or a store. Smart employers make sure employees know their obligations and treat the animal and its owner appropriately.

Worker must articulate ADA needs, alterations

09/10/2012

After you have implemented a reasonable accommodation for a disabled employee’s medical restrictions, it’s up to the employee to ask for any modifications that may be necessary.

Houston defense firm pays up in ‘regarded as disabled’ case

09/04/2012

BAE Systems Tactical Vehicle Systems of Houston has agreed to settle a disability discrimination suit filed on behalf of a morbidly obese former employee.

Doc clears return to work? Disability unlikely

08/23/2012

When an employee has a life-threatening and acute illness, he may need time off to recover. That’s a legitimate use of FMLA leave. But what if the employee fully recovers and comes back to work with a clean bill of health from his doctors, yet still feels weaker, more fatigued and not quite back to full health?

ADA doesn’t require commute-friendly transfer

08/21/2012

Disabled employees may ask for a transfer to a job closer to home to ease a difficult commute, but the ADA doesn’t obligate employers to help.

How to make medical inquiries the legally safe way

08/15/2012

Complying with the Americans with Disabilities Act is like walking a tightrope over Niagara Falls, only without a tether. If you fall off, you end up getting whisked away by lawsuits and drowning in litigation. That’s especially true when it comes to the ADA’s rules on medical inquiries about employees.

Normal pregnancy isn’t an ADA-covered disability

08/14/2012

Employees undergoing normal pregnancies don’t have an ADA claim.

Consider ADA–not just the FMLA–when employee experiences difficult pregnancy

08/14/2012

Most pregnancies proceed normally, with little or no real trouble for the mother. However, that’s not always the case. When things go wrong, the mother-to-be may be entitled to reasonable accommodations under the ADA. That’s true even if she hasn’t worked for her employer long enough to be eligible for FMLA leave.

Can we demand certification of violent employee’s alleged mental illness?

07/31/2012

Q. One of our employees physically threatened her co-workers. When confronted about the incident, the employee claimed that her behavior resulted from being bipolar. May we ask the employee to provide medical certification to prove that she is bipolar?

ADA