Disability

Fired from her job, a “sleepy” “armed security guard” may have an ADA claim

February 12, 2015 | by Eric B. Meyer

Yesterday, I read about a woman who alleged that her former employer violated the Americans with Disabilities Act when it fired her from her “armed security guard” position because of a medical condition. This notwithstanding that, in her complaint, the plaintiff admitted to being presented with pictures taken of her which appeared to show her sleeping on the job. In response, the plaintiff told the company that she was taking medication that made her “sleepy.”

Does this sound familiar?

Well, it should, because we’ve covered this before. An employee who, because is a disability, may have a tendency to fall asleep at work, could still be qualified to perform the essential functions of the job.

152,000 reasons for employers to consider discrimination with drug testing and haircuts

January 23, 2015 | by Eric B. Meyer

After the jump, what employers can learn from a possibly botched drug test and the failure to hire a Rastafarian

(Or an excuse for me to make gratuitous True Romance references).

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“Your Asperger’s got in the way of your ability to interact with your boss, and we are tired of it.”

January 2, 2015 | by Eric B. Meyer

I tell you, folks.

When a school janitor, the plaintiff in this case, claimed that the school principal uttered the words in the lede above, I felt a stirring within.

Literally, the second those words (allegedly) formed on the principal’s lips, my ~~Spidey~~ Bloggy-senses told me that I’d be able to usher in the new year with a fine blog post.

Comin’ atcha after the jump…

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Does the Americans with Disabilities Act require a transfer away from a jerk boss?

December 26, 2014 | by Eric B. Meyer

Whether you have a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act — so, like, all of us — or not, work can suck. Bosses can be jerks.

But, if an employee with a disability requests a transfer away from a jerk boss, must the company provide it?

Find out after the jump…

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Company overcomes its “ham-handed” ADA accommodation response, wins lawsuit

December 22, 2014 | by Eric B. Meyer

So just how did the employer snatch victory from the jaws of defeat after botching a diabetic employee’s request to work a modified schedule?

Find out after jump…

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Ebola discrimination in your workplace, what the Department of Justice wants you to know.

December 17, 2014 | by Eric B. Meyer

If you entered a time machine a few months ago and came out today to read this post, you missed a lot.

The Kansas City Royals made the World Series. Grammy Award winning rapper Eve wed entrepreneur Maximillion Cooper at Cala Jondal Beach in Ibiza, Spain. And a big-time Ebola scare.

Yeah, that Ebola scare was really something. But, it kinda just came and went, didn’t it? We haven’t had a new Ebola case in the U.S. in months, which makes the timing of Monday’s release of “Public Guidance on Protecting Civil Rights While Responding to the Ebola Virus” from the U.S. Department of Justice a bit off.

Change a no-narcotics policy to accommodate an employee? No way!

December 9, 2014 | by Eric B. Meyer

Just seems like common sense to me, especially where the employee seeking the accommodation would have to operate a motor vehicle.

Wait a minute!

Did an employee with a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act really think it would be reasonable for his employer to allow him to take narcotic pain medication so that he could operate a company vehicle pain free?

More after the jump…

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Black Friday HR-Dorkbuster!!! Silent ADA accommodation requests

November 28, 2014 | by Eric B. Meyer

[Because “The one about the guy who got fired and then requested a reasonable accommodation” isn’t clickbait enough].

More on the timing of ADA accommodation requests after the jump…

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What the EEOC plans to tell employers about wellness programs

November 26, 2014 | by Eric B. Meyer

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is obsessed with wellness programs.

Or, as the EEOC likes to describe them “‘so-called’ wellness programs.” And not in a “yay, so-called wellness programs are super” kinda way.

No, in recent months, the EEOC has initiated litigation against companies (example, example, example) claiming that they violate the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Genetic Information Non-Disclosure Act by both requiring medical examination and penalizing employees who decline to participate.

Accommodating a disabled employee generally does not require displacing another

November 7, 2014 | by Eric B. Meyer

The Americans with Disabilities Act requires that companies provide a reasonable accommodation to an employee with a disability, if doing so will allow the employee to perform the essential functions of the job.

The ADA contemplates a number of different types of reasonable accommodations. One such accommodation is a transfer into an open position for which the disabled employee is qualified. But what happens when there is no vacancy. Must an employer bump another non-disabled employee to accommodate the one with the disability?

As an Ohio federal court reminds us in this recent opinion that the answer is no, unless special circumstances exist: