In the evolving landscape of remote work, many employees believe they are shielded by the laws of the state they reside in. However, a recent decision from the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey — of all places !!! — reveals a harsh reality: working remotely…
It happens when an individual—a job applicant or current employee—is “regarded as having a disability” under the Americans with Disabilities Act. I’ll give you an example. Let’s say you hire someone online and sight unseen for a customer-facing position like a cashier or a salesperson at a department store. That…
Last year, several media outlets reported about a lawsuit that a clothing designer who worked for Lizzo and her touring company had asserted against them and another individual. That lawsuit included several claims under state law for discrimination, retaliation, and assault, among others. On paper, it didn’t sound good for…
A federal appellate court recently ruled that a university did not have to accommodate the disability of a professor seeking tenure by relaxing the tenure requirements or giving her a second chance to satisfy them. It’s a reminder that employers can require individuals to perform the essential functions of the…
As a thank you to the many readers who provided me with stellar Dallas-area BBQ recommendations, like the one featured above from Hutchins BBQ in McKinney, I’m sharing a tool that the U.S. Department of Labor recently announced to provide workers with disabilities and employers ideas for workplace accommodations. The…
I’ll go ahead and file this one under “duh.” If an employer inquires about an employee’s medical condition, the Americans with Disabilities Act mandates that it be job-related or consistent with business necessity. Even then, an employer must treat any medical information obtained from a disability-related inquiry or medical examination,…
The Americans with Disabilities Act prohibits discrimination against “qualified individuals with disabilities.” A qualified individual can perform the essential functions of their job with or without accommodation. While not the be-all-and-end-all, an employer’s business judgment about what job functions are essential carries substantial weight under the ADA. Still, courts often…
It may be as easy as listing the essential functions of the job. I’ll give you an example. A national furniture retailer hired a Warehouse Associate to unload and receive inbound furniture orders. One would assume that the job requires moving heavy objects often. But you know what you get…
Something caught my eye yesterday as I was perusing the EEOC newsroom. The federal watchdog recently announced that it had filed a lawsuit against an employer for something called Americans with Disabilities Act interference. What exactly is ADA interference? The ADA prohibits an employer from coercing, intimidating, threatening, or interfering…
About two weeks ago, I spotlighted an EEOC lawsuit where the agency claimed an employer fired a woman four days after she experienced a stillbirth and one day after submitting a confirming letter from her doctor, which also recommended six weeks to recuperate physically and grieve. The Pregnant Workers Fairness…