Articles Posted in Disability

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Image by 1shortdesign from Pixabay

A few weeks ago, one of the EEOC Commissioners asked me what more the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission could do to assist the HR community.

Right at the top of my list was a request for additional guidance on how businesses can help employees struggling with mental health during the pandemic. It will be one of the biggest HR issues of 2021.

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Image Credit: The Noun Project

On Monday, several business groups, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and The Society for Human Resource Management, wrote this letter to Charlotte Burrows, the new Chair of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

There’s just one thing they’ve got to know! Continue reading

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Image by Hayley Zacha from Pixabay

I wonder if, in light of their recently-proposed rules, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission would consider a joint a small enough incentive from employers to encourage their employees to participate in a company wellness program.

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According to a recent SHRM survey, most companies will encourage employees to get the COVID-19 vaccine — but not require it. Many employers, like this one, may even incentivize employees to get the vaccine by offering them money or extra PTO days to get the needle.

But, if you’re thinking about doing something similar, slow your roll. According to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), you may end up unwittingly violating the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Continue reading

Approximately 6 hours and 37 minutes after my blog post yesterday about “Preparing for Exceptions To Your Business’s COVID-19 Vaccine Program” went live, I received an email from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

It read something like this: Continue reading

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Image by Erin Stone from Pixabay

The Americans with Disabilities Act requires an employer to provide reasonable accommodation to qualified individuals with disabilities who are employees or applicants for employment, except when such accommodation would cause an undue hardship.

In the history of ADA, I don’t know of any court that has concluded that an employer must accommodate an employee’s use of medical marijuana. That’s because, federally, marijuana is still an illegal drug. (It’s on the Schedule One list). But, what about accommodating someone who uses medically-prescribed synthetic marijuana to treat the symptoms of an underlying disability? Continue reading

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Image by Shonda Ranson from Pixabay

Late last week, the EEOC revised and released three publications that discuss how the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) apply to veteran employees and those who employ them.
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