As I reported last week, after receiving over 600 public comments on its proposed regulations implementing the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act (ADAAA), the EEOC has released its final rules.
So what’s in these rules? And how will they affect employers? I’ve got a nice summary from the EEOC after the jump.
Hot off the press!
The EEOC has released its final ADA Amendments Act regulations. You can read the press release and get a copy of the regulations here.
For some prior posts at https://www.theemployerhandbook.com about the ADA, ADAAA, and the supporting regulations, click here and here.
On March 15, 2011, new Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) regulations will take effect governing access to state and local government facilities as well as places that are generally open to the public.
To find out out whether YOU may be covered and, if so, what your obligations are, click here.
Keeping with this week’s smoking theme, I see that the The New York Times recently ran a story discussing how some employers are refusing to hire smokers. The article warns, ““Smokers now face another risk from their habit: it could cost them a shot at a job.”
But is this legal? Can an employer really refuse to hire someone who smokes?
To learn the answer, check out a recent post I did at The Legal Intelligencer.
Recently, my friend Sharlyn Lauby, owner and sole proprietor of the HR Bartender Blog invited me to weigh in on a reader question about accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act. The reader, who is completely deaf, began developing neck pain at work because, the way her desk was positioned, she would constantly have to turn her head to hear anything people would say to her. Although she voiced her concerns to her boss, he just ignored her.
Unfortunately, this is not an uncommon situation. What should employees and employers do in this situation? Check out this post from the HR Bartender to find out.
Other helpful resources:
Hi there, Pennsylvania employers. Do you have employees that remind you of the sleeping gentleman in the picture to the right? After the jump, read about a local employee who was fired after getting caught sleeping on the job four times, and still successfully obtained unemployment compensation benefits!
Bill Leonard at the Society for Human Resource Management reports that the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has approved a final version of its regulations for the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act, a version of which the EEOC put out for public comment back in September 2009.
More after the jump.
There are plenty of good reasons that plaintiff’s lawyers heart the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (NJLAD). It has a wide scope of coverage for employees with disabilities. It’s remedial purposes are incredibly broad. A plaintiff can go directly to court with a claim under the NJLAD without vetting it with a state administrative agency first. A plaintiff can stay out of federal court where the odds of losing on an employment discrimination case on summary judgment are much higher than they are in state court.
As if the plaintiff’s bar didn’t need any further reasons to love the NJLAD.
Well, here’s one more…
Look what just arrived in today’s mail. It’s a charge of discrimination from the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Looks like Robert Rank-And-File — the guy Pennsylvania-New Jersey-Delaware, Inc. fired from data entry — alleges that the company terminated him because he’s disabled.
I’ll show you after the jump.
Continue reading
Can an employer terminate a disabled employee because accommodating the employee would create a significant risk of substantial harm to the employee or others in the workplace?
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