ADA

ADA: Unpaid leave can be reasonable accommodation

12/04/2023

The ADA requires employers and disabled employees to engage in an “interactive process” to explore possible accommodations that will enable the employee to perform a job’s essential functions. Then, the employer can pick the reasonable accommodation it prefers. But what if the employer chooses to place the employee on unpaid leave until a temporary flare-up of a disabling condition subsides?

Blanket refusal to accommodate leads to ADA liability

11/15/2023

Employers cannot simply declare that a specific accommodation in all circumstances creates an undue hardship. Consider each disability case individually.

ADA: Regularly review essential job functions

10/23/2023

Under the ADA, disabled workers are entitled to reasonable accommodations that allow them to perform the essential functions of their jobs. But what is an essential function? That’s almost entirely up to the employer to determine. Courts will almost always defer to the employer’s criteria as long as the employer identifies what it considers essential in job postings and job descriptions.

How to accommodate employees affected by sleep disorders, insomnia

10/19/2023

Together with insomnia, many sleep disorders may qualify as both disabilities under the ADA (warranting reasonable accommodations) and serious health conditions under the FMLA (entitling employees to take blocks of leave or intermittent leave for treatment or rest)

ADA: Make medical inquiries after extending job offer

10/19/2023

The ADA bars employers from asking applicants about their medical histories before they are hired. However, it allows those inquiries after the employer has offered the job—and employees must be honest when they answer.

Take the easy way out on most requests for disability accommodations

10/02/2023

There’s a right way and a wrong way to respond to a disabled employee’s request for a reasonable accommodation. When an accommodation would cost little or nothing to provide, the right way is usually obvious to most employers. Then there’s the wrong way, as this case shows.

In Disability Employment Awareness Month, most believe disabled Americans need more job assistance

10/02/2023

A full 93% of 1,000 employed Americans and 1,000 employed Americans with disabilities surveyed by disability employment organization SourceAmerica said the private sector and government should take a more active role in supporting employment opportunities for people with disabilities.

Be prepared to prove why remote work isn’t a reasonable disability accommodation

09/25/2023

In many cases, disabled workers qualify for telework as an ADA reasonable accommodation if working from home instead of an office enables them to perform their job’s essential functions. However, that doesn’t mean employers must always grant a request to work remotely. If the job simply can’t be done offsite, then telework isn’t a reasonable accommodation.

Accommodating employees with visual impairments

09/20/2023

About 18.4% of all U.S. adults are visually impaired, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Visual impairments and related limitations may qualify as disabilities under the ADA and require reasonable accommodations.

Yes, the ADA applies to remote workplaces, too

09/18/2023

Employers with 15 or more workers are required to comply with the ADA—even when those employees work remotely. In addition, employers must reasonably accommodate disabled applicants during the hiring process even if job interviews are conducted remotely.

ADA