Last Friday, I had the pleasure of speaking at the National Employment Lawyers Association – New Jersey Annual Conference. I must admit that I was a bit leery. While it sounded legitimate enough — they asked me to speak on a panel addressing accommodation issues under the Americans with…
In Philadelphia, we’re known for certain things, such as cheesesteaks. Ordering the cheesesteak is a bit of an art form. For example, I could order a “Cheese steak, with Cheez Whiz and fried onions.” Or, I could simply say, “Cheese wit.” As most anyone around her knows that Cheez…
About two years ago, the EEOC sued a Texas company, alleging that the company engaged in disability discrimination, in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act, when it fired a 680-pound worker because he was morbidly obese. The EEOC alleged that the employee’s immense weight interfered with his ability to…
Kolja Vraniskoska worked as an Environmental Services Technician for Franciscan Communities, Inc., a nursing home. Ms. Vran– (eh, let’s go with Ms. V) — had several responsibilities as an ES Tech, one of which was pushing and unloading a linen cart. Franciscan required that each ES Tech take a linen…
Imagine, if you will, that two years ago you hired Amanda Bynes to be your Social Media Manager. Things are going pretty smoothly, until your customers begin complaining that company’s Twitter feed has gone from informative and witty to curious and more-or-less bizarre. After reviewing the tweets for yourself, you…
That’s right folks. It’s time for another edition of “Fact or Fiction” a/k/a “Quick Answers to Quick Questions” a/k/a QATQQ f/k/a “I don’t feel like writing a long blog post.” Today, I’m speaking at the EEOC EXCEL Conference in Denver, CO. It’s an incredible honor, given that this is the…
A few years back, I sent in a Breaking Bad script to Vince Gilligan. At the time, I was concerned that the show was becoming too one-dimensional. High school teacher becomes meth kingpin. Yeah, I guess that could make for some good television — if you like taut, well-written, well-acted…
Well, if it means that the employee diagnosed with anxiety and depression — the one who requested a reasonable accommodation to perform her job — gets fired. Well, then, a lot. That’s basically what happened in this recent federal court case out of Kentucky. You see, normally, a court won’t…
Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, an employer must make reasonable accommodation to the known physical or mental limitations of an individual unless the employer can show that doing so how cause it undue hardship. Generally, an employee will initiate the process by advising her employer that she is disabled…
When the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act went into effect in 2009, it significantly lowered the bar for proving a “disability.” How low did it go? [cue ironic music, you’ll see in a sec…] You’ll see how low when your employee — like you and I — suffers from “episodic” (that’s…