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The Employer Handbook BlogIf Full-Time Remote Work Would Eliminate an Essential Function, You Don’t Have to Offer It
COVID-era telework was an emergency exception. Courts aren’t treating it as a permanent rewrite of job requirements.
Articles Posted in Disability
Can an Employee Sue for Failure to Accommodate a Disability She Said She Didn’t Have?
An employee who says “I’m not disabled” can’t turn around and sue for failure to accommodate a disability. The Sixth Circuit just confirmed that’s true even when the employer is the one who raised the disability question in the first place.
If Free Help Was Available and You Turned It Down, Can You Still Claim Undue Hardship?
A blind customer care advocate asked for screen reading software. According to the EEOC, his employer tested two products, decided the software wasn’t compatible, turned down a free offer from a state agency to help, and terminated him. That sequence cost $270,000.
What the ADA Requires When a Drug Test Flags a Legally Prescribed Medication
According to the EEOC, the company’s own doctors cleared two employees as fit for duty. The employer allegedly refused to let them return anyway, unless they switched the medications treating their disabilities. That decision cost $300,000.
What Does the ADA Require Before You Pull a Telework Accommodation You Already Approved?
The employer granted a dispatcher’s telework accommodation, watched her work successfully from home for nearly three years, then yanked it without ever talking to her according to the EEOC. That sequence cost $280,000.
Can a $2 Billion Company Claim a $1,700 Accommodation Is Too Expensive?
According to the EEOC, a $2 billion company said it couldn’t afford $1,700 hearing protection for an employee losing her hearing on the job. A federal lawsuit and a $100,000 settlement later, that calculus looks different.
Who’s Responsible If Your Benefits Vendor Drops the Ball on ADA Leave?
She showed up to work one morning, scanned her badge, and nothing happened. That’s allegedly how a 10-year employee learned she’d been fired while undergoing chemotherapy. Continue reading
Social Security Said He Can’t Work. His Lawsuit Said He Could. Guess Which One the Court Believed.
An employee told Social Security it was “impossible” for him to work, then filed an ADA lawsuit claiming he could perform his job with accommodations. The court tossed it on summary judgment. Continue reading
ADA Risk: Undoing a Working Accommodation After Years of Success
A new manager walks in, looks at a long-standing accommodation, and decides it’s over. The employee had been doing the job successfully for years. That’s where the risk starts.
“Focus on Your Health” Is Not a Lawful Reason to Fire Someone
Whatever the actual reason for firing an employee, the written explanation becomes evidence. A Mississippi restaurant is about to find out what that means. Continue reading