ADA

As the ADA approaches its 30th anniversary, we are taking a close look at employment issues affecting workers with disabilities. Stay tuned for related stories on recruiting, accommodations and more. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA prohibits a covered entity from discriminating against a qualified individual on the basis of disability in regard to employee compensation…

Here is our second in a series of five columns dedicated to laying out the basics of federal employment laws. The ADA protects employees and applicants with disabilities from discrimination in the workplace, and employers must train managers to properly implement its requirements. Let’s start with a scenario. An ice cream parlor employee, whom we’ll…

As the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit found, an employee must engage in the reasonable accommodation process and must provide medical documentation that actually supports his reasonable accommodation request. In Tchankpa v. Ascena Retail Group, Inc., an employee with a shoulder injury demanded to work from home. The employer sought medical documentation, which…

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit found that the employer offered a reasonable accommodation for an employee’s religious need, even though he argued the transfer offer was not reasonable. In Horvath v. City of Leander, a firefighter sought an exemption from the required TDAP vaccine on religious grounds. The city offered him two accommodations…

As human resources consultants, we see all sorts of reasons for businesses deciding to terminate employees, ranging from gross misconduct to plant closures. But there is one scenario that comes up from time to time that always strikes me as a particularly unfortunate loss of talent – when a good employee gets promoted into a…

A sales associate at a Dollar General store who asked how to request leave and was told by text that no leave was available could proceed with her Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) failure-to-accommodate claim, the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled. The plaintiff was a lead sales associate at a Dollar General store…

While litigation regarding accessibility of websites and mobile applications continues to swell, plaintiffs’ counsel are now pursuing new claims in serial litigation. With the holidays quickly approaching, many attorneys have set their sights on gift cards. Between Oct. 24-27, 2019, 33 putative nationwide class action cases were filed in two U.S. District Courts against an…

Complying with the Americans with Disabilities Act poses difficult challenges for employers, and one of the toughest issues to come along in recent years is how to deal with obese employees. Thanks to a new decision by the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, the law appears to be settling on the principle that obesity only…

As we previously reported, the issue of whether obesity is a legally-protected impairment is complex, and jurisdictions differ on the extent to which they consider obesity to be a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”). On June 12, 2019, the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit joined the Second, Sixth,…

The need to consider Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) accommodations can happen at any time during the employment relationship. Generally, an employee will ask for an accommodation before problems with performance emerge. Sometimes, however, an employee decides to notify you of the need for an accommodation when an investigation is underway, when they are being disciplined, or…

Why Do Pay Gaps Persist for US Workers With Disabilities?

Back to Basics: A Beginner’s ADA Road Map

“Employees Cannot Mandate an Accommodation”

Impact on Outside Job Does Not Make an Accommodation Unreasonable

One Promotion Too Far

‘No Leave Available’ Text Supports ADA Claim

Just in Time for the Holidays – Does the ADA Require Braille on Gift Cards?

When is Obesity a Disability under the ADA?

Seventh Circuit: Obesity Alone Is Not A Disability Under the ADA

Red Flag: When An Employee Raises ADA Issues During Disciplinary Meetings