Can an employer have a categorical policy of hiring the most qualified candidate when a qualified disabled employee requests reassignment to a vacant role, even if he or she is not the most qualified applicant? The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission says no.
But the EEOC doesn’t wear the black robe and bang the gavel. Continue reading
If you haven’t done FMLA training for your supervisors, hopefully, this post will motivate you to get some on the calendar. Continue reading
The plaintiff in the case I read last night worked in Hawaii as a customer service representative. She was a clinically obese woman with a long history of diabetes and hypertension, resulting in physical limitations related to neuropathy in her hands and feet. However, her job involved sitting at a desk, taking calls, and answering emails. So she had no trouble performing it for the first seven years of employment.
But, since I’m writing today about an Americans with Disabilities Act lawsuit, things did eventually go south, as you may have expected. Continue reading
The Americans with Disabilities Act bars employers from firing someone because they have a disability. It also requires employers to provide workplace accommodations to otherwise “qualified” individuals with actual disabilities unless going so would create an undue hardship. Someone who is “qualified” can perform the job’s essential functions with or without an accommodation.
Put another way, if the employee can’t do the job with or without help, then the ADA doesn’t protect them – as one employee recently found out the hard way. Continue reading
I read on the U.S. Department of Labor website that unions help employees improve the workplace with “enhancements” such as “flexible scheduling, protections against harassment and safer working conditions – that improve the quality of jobs and workers’ well-being.”
However, a union non-profit that touts itself as a provider of help to workers with health problems allegedly violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by discriminating against an employee based on her disability, breast cancer.
Now, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is suing!
There’s a reason that they don’t teach “clairvoyance” in HR certification courses.
(Although, it would be nice to have it to avoid some hires, amirite?) Continue reading
Unless you run a dental practice, I can’t imagine why a fetching, toothy smile would be a job qualification. But, apparently, a large chain of gas/convenience stores has that policy. Continue reading
Yesterday, I told you about the EEOC’s new resource document for assisting individuals with hearing disabilities. Today, I’ll tell you how the Second Circuit Court of Appeals breathed new life into the failure-to-accommodate claims of a deaf individual who worked as a case manager for a city’s Human Resources Administration (HRA).
So, thank you, blogging gods, for the impeccable timing.
If you’re an employment law nerd like me, in addition to being the envy of your neighborhood, you also know that the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission does not shy away from bringing failure-to-accommodate claims on behalf of deaf individuals. Look at all of them! Continue reading
The Americans with Disabilities Act prohibits employers from discriminating against qualified individuals because of a disability. A qualified individual can perform the job’s essential functions with or without a reasonable accommodation. Often, an individual with a disability will approach a supervisor or HR, identify their limitations, and ask for help. It’s a modest burden.
Then, it’s the employer’s job to continue a good faith, interactive process to determine whether a reasonable accommodation exists to help the employee without creating undue hardship on the business. When done right, it’s a win-win. But, when the employer impedes the process, it often results in a lawsuit. Continue reading
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