Maryland has a new law forbidding employers from demanding that job applicants and employees divulge online passwords. Two weeks ago, the federal government proposed similar legislation. And, last week, news surfaced that Delaware may be placing the same restrictions on employers. But who needs to demand online passwords, when, according…
Articles Posted in Disability
ADA potpourri, anyone?
Smells like patchouli. Or is that teen spirit? Hey, it’s been a long day. Can an employer insist on regular attendance without violating the ADA? Maybe. says Robin Shea at the Employment and Labor Insider. And forget about indefinite leave as a reasonable accommodation under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination…
Mini horse + reasonable accommodation lawsuit = I told you so!
Remember back in July 2011 when I told you that a miniature horse might be reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act? Giddy-up! I whinny! Ok, I’ll quit horsing around. (I mare or may not be referring to a printed-out list of horse puns as I type this…) More…
Distinguishing state & federal disability-accommodation claims
Let’s say you operate a business in NJ. Your disabled employee comes to you requesting an accommodation for his disability. Does the mere failure to provide that accommodation trigger a claim under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (NJLAD)? What about under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)? I…
More on obesity and ADA discrimination
Back in December, I wrote here about a federal court in Louisiana recognizing that a morbidly-obese plaintiff may have a physical impairment which, if it substantially limits one or more major life activities, would bring that plaintiff within the scope of the ADA (the pre-ADAAA version). As an update to…
USERRA + ADAAA = 11 letters and many more HR issues
Quick quiz: What protections does the ADA provide to veterans with disabilities? When is a veteran with a service-connected disability protected by the ADA? May an employer ask if an applicant is a “disabled veteran” if it is seeking to hire someone with a disability? So, how did you do?…
The ADA does not force employers to provide indefinite leave
Hey, that blog title looks familiar. Oh yeah! I wrote about it here back in October. This time around, another federal court, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals, has reaffirmed that while a “leave of absence may be a reasonable accommodation [under the Americans with Disabilities Act]”, the employee must provide…
Pedophilia as a disability?!? #Vomit
Yesterday, Greece came through with a long-awaited economic reform deal. Congratulations to them. What I want to know, however, is what the heck the Greek government was thinking when it recently expanded a list of state-recognized disability categories to include pedophiles, exhibitionists and kleptomaniacs. Bailout money back, please. At Res…
SCOTUS: Religious groups nearly exempt from job-bias laws
Yesterday, in Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School v. EEOC, the United States Supreme Court unanimously held that the Establishment and Free Exercise Clauses of the First Amendment bar employment-discrimination lawsuits by ministers against their churches. More on this decision and some helpful reminders for private-sector employers after the jump……
Can ADA-disabled employees be required to work overtime?
To prove disability discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), a plaintiff, at a minimum, must prove that: she is disabled; she is otherwise qualified to perform the job requirements, with or without reasonable accommodation; and she was discharged (or otherwise suffered an adverse employment action) solely on account…