A few months ago, I blogged about a lawsuit in which the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleged that an employer denied a deaf job applicant’s accommodation request and terminated his candidacy because verbal communication and hearing were job requirements for the position in a remote setting. Late last month,…
Wait, Eric! Didn’t you blog about this yesterday? Actually, yesterday’s post explored how you can tell if full-time work is essential to an employee’s job. But, to answer today’s question about in-office versus remote work, I’ll use the same Eleventh Circuit decision I addressed yesterday. We have an employee on…
I’ll give you an example. Suppose one of your supervisors has worked full-time (at least 40-hour weeks) on the evening shift for many years. Then, they are diagnosed with a disability and take FMLA leave. When the FMLA expired, they requested (and the company approved) a temporary accommodation allowing them…
“Eric, we have an employee who needed four weeks off for hip surgery. We provided it. After the surgery, they requested three more months off to have a second surgery. We provided it. Then, they experienced even more complications that required even more surgery, and their doctor told us they…
In my day, televisions had antennas, which you had to position just right to watch one of three channels, and I’m turning into my parents. Let’s talk about Family and Medical Leave Act interference instead. Last night, I read an Eleventh Circuit decision about an employee who had taken FMLA…
Let’s see if you agree with me. The defendant operated a hotel and event venue. The plaintiff had an opioid addiction and had been prescribed methadone to treat her addiction. She took methadone daily. In 2021, the plaintiff applied for the position of banquet bartender with the defendant. The plaintiff…
Suppose that several employees complain that a coworker is creating a “hostile work environment” because they were afraid that she (the coworker) was going to report them (the employees) for engaging in unspecified misconduct in the workplace. Can the employer respond by mandating an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) referral as…
The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) forbids discrimination against employees or applicants because of genetic information. Specifically, Title II of GINA prohibits using genetic information in making employment decisions, restricts employers from requesting, requiring, or purchasing genetic information, and strictly limits the disclosure of genetic information. While GINA has been…
***ducks tomato*** I’ll give you an example. Let’s say a firefighter develops Parkinson’s Disease. Eventually, her disease leaves her incapable of performing the essential functions of her job, and she takes disability retirement at age 48. The employer has a policy allowing former employees, like the employee here, to receive…
A little over five years ago, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sued an employer for disability discrimination. It claimed that the company, which temporarily granted a request to allow an employee with night blindness to work an earlier shift to avoid an evening commute, should have agreed to extend…