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ADA

Don’t guess about a worker’s condition; test and inquire

02/01/2006

If you treat employees as if they’re disabled, they’ll garner ADA protections even if they’re healthy as horses. Wait for skills testing and medical results to determine an employee’s condition; don’t make snap judgments …

You can remove injured worker for safety reasons

02/01/2006

Q. An employee told us he has a bad hernia. He wants to wait a couple months to have the operation, since it requires six weeks’ recovery. He does some lifting in his job. Yesterday, he had to go home early because he was in pain. Now that we are aware of his condition, what’s our liability? And what should we do? —D.C., New Jersey

Make Your Return-to-Work Requirements Reasonable

02/01/2006

Can you probe into employees’ conditions when they’re returning from medical leave? If you ask too many questions of such workers (or erect too many roadblocks to their return), you’ll risk a lawsuit. Use your right to medical certification appropriately, but don’t go overboard …

Alert Supervisors to Little-Known Association-Bias Law

01/01/2006

By now, your supervisors know it’s illegal to discriminate against someone because of his or her disability. But do they also know about a less obvious part of the ADA that makes it illegal to discriminate against people because they have an association with a person who has a disability? …

Evacuation planning: Pay attention to ADA responsibilities

01/01/2006

While the ADA was created to stop employment discrimination, the law also requires you to provide equal access (and possibly accommodations) for disabled employees in the area of emergency evacuations from your workplace …

Asking for Test Results Is OK if a ‘Business Necessity’

01/01/2006

The ADA prohibits you from seeking medical information simply to find out if the person has a disability. You can, however, seek such details to discover whether a person is medically fit to perform the job duties. Don’t shy away from every medical inquiry; just make sure it’s based on a legitimate business necessity …

Don’t give up on accommodations too early; show a ‘good faith’ effort

12/01/2005
When faced with a disabled employee, you must actively negotiate possible accommodations in good faith. That may seem obvious, but employers are constantly …

Know how to accommodate employee vision problems

12/01/2005
The EEOC just issued new guidelines that explain issues such as:
  • When a vision impairment qualifies as a “disability” under the ADA;
  • What questions you can ask job …

React quickly to disability accommodation requests

12/01/2005
Issue: The EEOC is targeting employers who drag their heels on employees’ disability accommodation requests.
Risk: Courts could see your delay tactics as illegal “constructive discharge” of disabled employees…

Make sure return-to-work requirements are reasonable

11/01/2005
When employees return from leave for an FMLA-covered illness or ADA-related disability, you naturally want to make sure they’re ready to resume work. After all, if problems linger, you may want …