Disability

The firefighter afraid of fighting fires loses his ADA claim. Right, you guys? Right?!?

June 10, 2014 | by Eric B. Meyer

If I could drink up your collective skepticism when it comes to these Americans with Disabilities Act cases…

…I’d need my stomach pumped.

Let’s see. There’s the one about the utilityman who couldn’t climb utility poles, but had an ADA claim against a utility company. And then who can forget the bridge worker with the fear of heights who presented a viable ADA claim? ~~And what about the stripper who feared climbing the stripper pole?~~

Just how badly did a federal appellate court trash extended leave as a reasonable accommodation?

June 2, 2014 | by Eric B. Meyer

I’m feeling rather charitable this evening as I punch out this post. Maybe it’s the proud feeling of crossing off my bucket list taking my four-year-old son to a Sunday early-bird at the biggest dive bar in South Jersey. (*Bonus points if you can guess the bar).

Well, I’m not sure if “proud” really captures it.

(And before you call DYFS, that’s ~~sour mix~~ pineapple juice).

An ADA accommodation just has to be reasonable — not the employee’s first choice

May 29, 2014 | by Eric B. Meyer

This is my son’s first year playing t-ball. The rules, in case you’re not familiar with them, are simple:

Everybody hits

Everybody (eventually) rounds the bases

Firing a sick employee just before she is FMLA-eligible is very risky

May 22, 2014 | by Eric B. Meyer

So, check this out.

I read this case yesterday about an employee who provided her company with a November 12 doctor’s note, requesting that her hours be reduced due to her high-risk pregnancy. The employee would have become eligible for coverage under the Family and Medical Leave Act on November 17.

The company fired her on November 16.

FACT OR FICTION: There is such a thing as a reverse-disability claim?

May 5, 2014 | by Eric B. Meyer

That’s right folks. It’s time for another edition of “Fact or Fiction” a/k/a “Quick Answers to Quick Questions” a/k/a QATQQ f/k/a “I don’t feel like writing a long blog post.”

Try this one for size, folks.

In this case, an employee argued that her former employer retaliated against her, by terminating her for complaining about the favorable treatment a co-worker with a special needs child received.

Withdrawing a job offer because of an applicant’s prior injury may violate the ADA

May 2, 2014 | by Eric B. Meyer

Two big EEOC pet peeves right now are:

employers who discriminate in the hiring process; and

employers who violate the Americans with Disabilities Act based on misconceived notions about how an individual’s health could impact that person’s ability to perform essential job functions.

Teacher can’t return to work two weeks after maternity leave ends, but may have an ADA claim

April 29, 2014 | by Eric B. Meyer

Recently, I gave a webinar about the interplay between the Family and Medical Leave Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act. One of the takeaways there was that, when an employee’s 12 weeks of FMLA leave expire, you need to be thinking about ADA implications rather than processing a pink slip at 12 weeks and a day. This is because additional leave may be a reasonable accommodation.

The same issues can arise if you have a pregnant employee. That is, you need to consider the interplay between the Pregnancy Discrimination Act and the ADA.

A recent case shows how the ADA may apply to pregnant employees.

I ran my mouth for an hour and six minutes about the FMLA/ADA interplay

April 25, 2014 | by Eric B. Meyer

Only the dorkiest of HR/Lawyers dorks could appreciate this webinar.

Here is the recording.

Here are the slides.

Sixth Circuit redefines the “workplace” when considering attendance as an ADA essential job function

April 23, 2014 | by Eric B. Meyer

These blogging fingers have had much to say about telecommuting as a reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, these blogging fingers are going to dunk broccoli into spinach dip.

Ok, I’m back.

The ADA may require companies to accommodate employee theft. Yep, stealing.

April 16, 2014 | by Eric B. Meyer

Back in 2011, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sued Walgreens from disability discrimination. Specifically, the EEOC claimed that Josefina Hernandez, a cashier at Walgreens’ South San Francisco store, who suffered from diabetes, was on duty when she opened a $1.39 bag of chips because she was suffering from an attack of hypoglycemia (low blood sugar).

The EEOC further alleged that Walgreens knew of Ms. Hernandez’s disability and fired Ms. Hernandez after being informed that Hernandez had eaten the chips because her blood sugar was low, even though she paid for the chips when she came off cashier duty.

It’s all here in the EEOC’s September 2011 press release.