The Employer Handbook Blog
Of all the hills on which an employer should plant its flag to defend, this is not the one. Continue reading
Articles Posted in Disability
Let’s revisit whether morbid obesity is a disability (and why, sometimes, it may not matter).
In today’s blog post, we’re doubling up on the employment law lessons. It’s a two for Tuesday Thursday! Continue reading
Another employer learns the hard way that it’s better to hire slow and fire fast
A company fired one of its employees just ten days after learning about his disability. Although the proximity between the two doesn’t confirm that the employee’s disability motivated the employer’s decision, some other vital factors led a federal appellate court to overrule a lower court’s decision in favor of the employer, thus setting the stage for a jury trial on the plaintiff’s Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) claims.
I’ll explain why. Continue reading
I may have located the blueprint showing when regular, in-person attendance is an ADA essential job function
Earlier this month, a federal appellate court had to decide whether a hospital employee could perform her job remotely or whether the job’s essential functions required her to come to work in person.
Spoiler alert: The plaintiff lost the failure-to-accommodate claim she asserted under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
But stick around because the Seventh Circuit’s thoughtful analysis may help you decide whether regular work attendance is essential for the job. Continue reading
EEOC claims four HR employees facilitated two acts of disability bias against the same person
The Americans with Disabilities Act makes it unlawful for an employer to discriminate against a qualified applicant or employee with a disability. According to a lawsuit that the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed yesterday, an employer did both.
To the same individual. Continue reading
The ADA may require accommodations for alcoholics. But it can get tricky when police are involved.
Yes, alcoholism can be a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Continue reading
Sometimes, the only reasonable accommodation is one where the employee doesn’t work.
Yesterday, we talked about how workplace accommodations that enable an employee to remain at work (and get paid) are generally better than ones that require time off, like an unpaid leave of absence.
But sometimes, there’s only one option. Continue reading
Is do-it-yourself dialysis at work an ADA reasonable accommodation? The EEOC thinks so.
I’ve practiced law for over twenty years, mainly as an employment lawyer. In that time, I’ve lost track of the number of times that I’ve counseled employers on their obligations under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Some of those have involved accommodating employees with end-stage renal disease and adjusting work schedules to allow for dialysis appointments.
But, an accommodation request to perform dialysis at work? That’s a new one.
Thank you, EEOC, for this new ADA visual disabilities in the workplace guidance document
Yesterday, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission released a new technical assistance document called “Visual Disabilities in the Workplace and the Americans with Disabilities Act.”
Sure, you could read all 59 pages of it. Or I can digest it here for you in a few hundred words—your choice. Continue reading