ADA
Can Non-Employers Be Sued for Interference with an Employee’s ADA Rights?
Addressing this “novel” question, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit answered: No. However – be careful – companies may be held liable under a joint employer theory. In Post v. Trinity Health-Michigan, a nurse was employed by a physician group that provided services to a hospital. Several months after suffering an accident…
Read MoreUnlimited Time Off Presents Hidden Challenges for Employers
We have increasingly been fielding inquiries from organizations that are looking to implement some version of unlimited time off for their employees. They saw that employees continued to be productive while working remotely during the pandemic, and they want to give them the flexibility to take time off as/when needed – provided the work still…
Read MoreEEOC Issues New Guidance on Disability Bias and Algorithmic Employment Assessments
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recently released guidance to help private sector employers avoid disability discrimination when using algorithms to assess employees and applicants. The guidance explains the ways in which software that relies on algorithmic decision-making can run afoul of Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements. The guidance also includes “promising practices” to…
Read MoreCourt Cases Show Mistakes to Avoid in ADA Compliance
Staying compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) presents various challenges for employers, and these challenges have only increased in the last two years during the COVID-19 pandemic. There’s a lot of complexity in determining what’s a covered condition and what’s an essential job function. Two of the biggest problems are employees who want…
Read MoreManufacturers Face Unique Problems in Accommodating Assembly Line Workers With Disabilities
As manufacturers rebound from the disruptive impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and begin putting more employees back to work, they should be prepared for a corresponding increase in requests for accommodation from assembly line workers. These requests can create unique challenges in manufacturing plants due to the inherently physical nature of the work, but there…
Read MoreEmployer’s Refusal to Reinstate Worker After 12-Month Leave Ends in $315K Settlement
An employer has agreed to pay $315,000 to settle a lawsuit alleging it allowed an employee to take about 12 months of medical leave but then fired him once he was able to return to work, in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The employee was out of work for nearly a year, according…
Read MoreIntersection of ADA, COVID-19 Requires Creative Reopening Policies, EEOC Official Says
The EEOC has received hundreds of charges involving both COVID-19 vaccination and the ADA, according to Evangeline Hawthorne, the agency’s Tampa field office director. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has received thousands of charges related to COVID-19 since the pandemic began. As of December 2021, more than 2,700 charges were related to COVID-19 vaccines,…
Read MoreWhen Might an Employer Question FMLA Certification?
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) certification of a serious health condition must be complete and sufficient, but sometimes it’s neither. Employers rarely take a hard line but instead ask employees to provide more information to finish out the certification. Here are some tips on how to recognize something is wrong with the certification and…
Read MoreNot Every Complaint Is a Request for Accommodation
Employees need to provide sufficient information to the employer that a health issue could be a disability that is interfering with their ability to work, as the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit recently found. In Powley v. Rail Crew Xpress, LLC, the employee driver had back pain that interfered with her ability…
Read MoreADA May Require Additional Leave Following FMLA Exhaustion, EEOC Reminds Employers
The Americans with Disabilities Act may require additional leave for workers who exhaust their Family and Medical Leave Act entitlements, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission warned in a recent press release. The agency said a trucking and property management company will pay $65,000 to settle a lawsuit alleging the employer violated the ADA by…
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