Articles Posted in Disability

Image by Shafin Al Asad Protic from Pixabay

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

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

Image Credit: reassign by Ralf Schmitzer from the Noun Project

Imagine that you have an employee who becomes disabled and can no longer perform the job’s essential functions. Being the good employer that you are, consistent with the Americans with Disabilities Act, you engage the employee in an interactive dialogue to explore possible reasonable accommodations. After a lot of back and forth, the only possibility is a transfer to another director position.

Except, here’s the thing. Continue reading

Image by Viktor Ivanchenko from Pixabay

A few months ago, I blogged here about a lawsuit filed in a Pennsylvania federal court in which a plaintiff alleged that a grocery store’s inflexible policy of requiring all customers to face coverings — even the ones with documented medical issues — violated the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Late last week, the judge effectively stuck a pin in the plaintiff’s balloon by denying a request for an injunction. So, I want to tell you a little about this case. Stick around to read the plaintiff’s social media posts. It’ll be worth your while.

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