A single disclosure from a job applicant about her methadone prescription allegedly turned a routine interview into an ADA problem the EEOC now wants a court to resolve. TL;DR: The EEOC has sued concrete-industry employers, alleging they refused to hire applicants who lawfully use methadone or other medication-assisted…
How can you tell if your business is big enough to trigger federal or state employment laws? A recent Ninth Circuit case illustrates just how complicated that question can get. Two columns in a payroll spreadsheet generated two different employee counts, creating a triable issue about legal coverage. TL;DR: A…
Supervisors sometimes say things they should never say. When that happens, employers usually brace for impact. But this case shows how strong documentation and independent decision-making can prevent one person’s bad behavior from controlling the outcome. TL;DR: A supervisor mocked an employee’s VA disability rating, and the employee reported…
Led Zeppelin was decades ahead of the ADA, but “good times, bad times” captures exactly how episodic disabilities can look in the workplace. Some employees have great days. Others have rough days. Most have both. And under the ADA, those fluctuating limitations still count. A recent Sixth Circuit decision…
A Detroit nonprofit employee said the air in her office made her sick after a flood. She claimed the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) let her work from home instead. Her doctor agreed she should avoid mold but never said she couldn’t come in. After a short remote stint, she…
A recent Eleventh Circuit decision highlights that offering reassignment instead of extending medical leave can be a reasonable accommodation under the ADA when the reassignment fits the employee’s restrictions and the circumstances. The court said the employer acted lawfully by offering another available position rather than more leave, which…
Most accommodation cases start with an employee asking to stay home.This one features the rare unicorn: a disabled worker who fought for the right to come in. TL;DR: A disabled IRS employee sued under the Rehabilitation Act after the agency required telework during COVID and turned down his request for indefinite…
The same unpaid leave that protects an employer in one case can create liability in another. TL;DR: Unpaid leave can be a lawful, reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) when an employee truly cannot work. But after the Supreme Court’s Muldrow decision lowered the bar for…
Employers often worry that if they don’t run a picture-perfect investigation, a court will second-guess their decision. The Sixth Circuit just reminded everyone that the law doesn’t demand perfection; it demands reasonableness. And one employer’s measured, fact-based approach was enough to win. TL;DR: A truss manufacturer fired a production-line employee…
Anxiety, grievances, and open-ended leave requests can leave HR stuck between compassion and compliance. A federal appellate court just clarified what the ADA does, and does not, require. TL;DR: An employee told her employer she could not return “until further notice” because of anxiety. The Eleventh Circuit held that such…