“Smithers, refill my lime rickey. And find me a dunce cap. Post haste.” The Americans with Disabilities Act requires employers to provide a reasonable accommodation, upon request, to an individual with a disability to enable that person to perform the essential functions of the job. Oftentimes, the questions arises: What are…
My readers are the best! On Friday, I received two emails within 15 minutes of one another, encouraging me to blog about this story. Kenneth Hilario at the Philadelphia Business Journal writes about an employee of an NJ company who is suing her employer. What makes this story special? The company allegedly fired…
The Americans with Disabilities Act requires an employer to accommodate an employee with a disability, if doing so will enable that individual to perform the essential functions of the job. The exception is if the accommodation would create undue hardship for the employer. But when is that duty to accommodate…
An alcoholic employee can present a number of tricky legal issues affecting the workplace. Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, there’s a certain dichotomy. That is, alcoholism is a disability under the Act. However, an employer can ban alcohol in the workplace and require that employees not be under the…
One of my all-time favorite ADA cases — God, am I a dork — is Keith v. County of Oakland, which I previously blogged about here. It involves a deaf lifeguard who applies for a position at a public pool and what, accommodations, if any are reasonable to allow him…
The SHRM blog does, silly. But, I can link to the preview (here) and the recap (here). Definitely check those out. Allen Smith, Manager of workplace law content at SHRM, and a host of others did a great job fielding questions about the ADA and FMLA issues that keep HR professionals up…
You might as well paint a huge bulls-eye on your business and open up your checkbook. This EEOC press release, announcing an Americans with Disabilities Act settlement with a senior living facility explains why: Brookdale Senior Living Communities, Inc. of Denver will pay $112,500 and furnish other relief to settle…
Not literally in the sun. Only Superman could do that. Or maybe some of those X-Men. Well, you get the idea. The lede, up to the word “sun.” Yesterday, I read this federal court opinion about an employee who was hired to work outdoors during the day. Unfortunately, during the employee’s…
When the EEOC accuses your company of engaging in a “pattern or practice” of discrimination, it’s gonna be a tough year. In EEOC v. Celadon Trucking Services, Inc. (opinion here), the EEOC accused Celadon Trucking of violating the Americans with Disabilities Act, by engaging in a “pattern or practice” of…
Many of us, including me, have a loved one or friend who has suffered through mental illness. With proper treatment, counseling and support, the symptoms may be controllable. However, sometimes medication and treatment aren’t enough. Mental illness, which generally qualifies as a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act, can…