COVID-19 has changed workplaces across the country. The virus’s status as a pandemic has given employers more tools to protect employees from the risks of infection at work. While the ADA normally restricts employers from making medical inquiries to employees or conducting medical exams at work, the COVID-19 pandemic has relaxed some of these restrictions.
Appeals Court Rejects Disability Discrimination Claim of Employee with Supervisor-Induced Stress and Migraines
When an employee requests an accommodation or asserts a claim under the Americans with Disabilities Act, an employer’s second question—right after “Are we even covered by the ADA?”—will likely be: “Did/does the employee have a disability?” (Claims from employees who are merely perceived as disabled are a topic for another day.) The definition of a
Disability Accommodations Can Take Many Forms
Often times when I am speaking to a client about an employee’s requested accommodation for a disability, we are talking about leave as that is often the request most difficult to accommodate. Another one that gives employers fits is “light duty.” But what about some other types of accommodations?
A recent Pennsylvania case reminds employers
Afraid Your Workers Might be Like Cheech and Chong with Medical Marijuana?
With the prevalence of medical marijuana laws in this country, I routinely get asked by employers what are the rules where an employee has a medical marijuana card? Can I still do pre-employment screening? What if they are using at work? Do I have to accommodate medical marijuana in the workplace?
Get the answers to
Volvo Reaches $70k Settlement in Disability Discrimination Suit After Refusing to Hire Applicant on Suboxone
Volvo Group North America, LLC will pay $70,000 and institute a three-year consent decree to resolve a federal disability discrimination suit brought by the U.S. Equal Opportunity Employment Commission (EEOC).
According to the suit, Volvo made a conditional job offer to a qualified applicant for a laborer position at its Hagerstown, Maryland facility. The applicant,
Seventh Circuit Says Extended Medical Leave is Not a Reasonable Accommodation under the ADA
On September 20, 2017, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals issued a decision that a requested three month medical leave due to a disability was not a reasonable accommodation under the ADA. Although there is some discussion of the particular facts in the case, much to the delight of management-side attorneys like me, the case
EEOC Sues Freight Company for Failing to Accommodate Emotional Support Dog
A notable case caught our eye recently coming out of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida filed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”). Namely, The EEOC sued CRST International, Inc. (“CRST”) claiming that it, among other things, violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA
Eighth Circuit Holds That Employer’s Duty To Engage in Reasonable Accommodation Discussions Can Be Inferred from Circumstances
Bill Egan writes:
Under the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA), a covered employer must provide reasonable accommodations to disabled employees, unless doing so would cause an undue hardship on the employer. Generally, an employer’s duty to reasonably accommodate is initiated by a request for an accommodation from a disabled employee or someone speaking on the
Fitness for Duty Exams: Better Safe Than Sorry
A workplace of any significant size is bound to be full of individuals who are a little off the beaten path, so to speak. While an employer will need to deal with the quirky dispositions of some workers, on occasion an employee’s behavior will cross over from merely quirky to disturbing.
The first step towards
Employee Leave Questions Got You Down?
Employee leave issues can be exceedingly complicated given the interplay between local, state and federal laws. If you have questions, hopefully, I can help. I will be giving a webinar through Lorman on June 23rd at 1 pm EST entitled “Legal and Practical Solutions for Accommodating Employees with Serious Illnesses.”
I am pleased