Close

Articles Posted in Disability

Updated:

An indefinite leave of absence may be an ADA reasonable accommodation. Wait, WHAT?!?

Image by ErikaWittlieb from Pixabay As employment lawyers, we counsel clients that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to requests for reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Indeed, they are very fact-specific. Although, there is one fundamental immutable truth; namely, a request for an indefinite leave of absence is…

Updated:

It’s a mini COVID-19 Q and A! (Before I see y’all on Zoom today at Noon EDT.)

Marcin Wichary / CC BY Before we see what’s in the mailbag, here’s your final reminder to register (here) for today’s free Zoom session at Noon EDT today with me and some of my friends from the EEOC. We’re going to be talking mediation, pro-tips, and the new pilot program.…

Updated:

Must you consider transferring a problem employee before lumping him in a COVID-19 reduction in force?

Bjornsphoto / CC BY I’m reminded of the Mötley Crüe hit Same ‘Ol Situation (S.O.S.). The actual lyrics have nothing to do with employment law — sexual harassment, maybe? — but I digress… The song title carries a little HR lesson today; namely, just because your company is going through…

Updated:

I have new guidance for employees struggling with substance abuse issues during this pandemic

(U.S. Air Force photo illustration/Tech. Sgt. Mark R. W. Orders-Woempner) Technically, the new guidance is from the EEOC. But, since this is my blog, I’ll take credit for sharing it. Before I detail this new guidance, I’ve got some other big EEOC news! That is, several of my friends from…

Updated:

Happy 30th Birthday to the Americans with Disabilities Act

Image Credit: Marco Verch on Flickr //embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js Thirty years ago — technically, thirty years ago yesterday — President George H.W. Bush signed the Americans with Disabilities Act into law to protect the rights of individuals with disabilities. A brief history of the ADA Title I of the ADA makes it…

Updated:

Your state just imposed new quarantine rules for out-of-state travel. Now what?

Image by Jan Vašek from Pixabay A client emailed me yesterday asking if I’d read about the new COVID-19 quarantine restrictions for travelers to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Specifically, the client asked whether they could trigger a need to provide leave under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act. Maybe your…

Updated:

COVID-19 antibody testing as a condition of returning to work? Bwahahahahahahahahahaha!!!

free images I’ve got something to tell you. I’m coming clean. Are you ready? Here it is. I don’t know squat about antibody testing for COVID-19. And guess what? You don’t either. Look, I’ve met plenty of people who think that they know about antibody testing for COVID-19: friends, colleagues,…

Updated:

It’s okay to invite employees to request disability accommodations, plus other brand new EEOC COVID-19 guidance!

Image by Oberholster Venita from Pixabay As a best practice, and in advance of having some or all employees return to the workplace, are there ways for an employer to invite employees to request flexibility in work arrangements? That’s the first of six coronavirus-related questions that the EEOC answered yesterday…

Updated:

There’s no maybe about it. Here’s why, for sure, COVID-19 is an ADA disability. Probably.

Photo by cottonbro from Pexels On March 27, 2020, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission hosted an “Ask the EEOC” webinar exclusively addressing the EEO laws in the time of the COVID-19 pandemic. One of the questions asked was whether COVID-19 is a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act.…