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ADA

Disability isn’t ‘get out of jail free’ card–it must be revealed before discipline

08/24/2015

Some workers who learn they’re about to be disciplined or even fired for poor behavior may try to use an alleged disability as an excuse. But if they never revealed before that they have a disability, it’s too late to try that tactic on the eve of being punushed.

Must we permit transitional work following off-duty injuries?

08/19/2015
Q. An employee was injured away from work. He is now demanding to return to work as an accommodation for his injuries, which he claims is a disability under both the ADA and Minnesota Human Rights Act. We do have a transitional work program, whereby we create work to aid workers injured on the job in returning to work. The work involves duties that we otherwise outsource, such as floor sweeping, etc. Our injured employee is not able to return to his prior position due to the physical nature of that job, and is now demanding that we provide him this sort of transitional work. Must we?

Unless you’re a doctor, don’t try medical diagnosis

08/17/2015
A Texas company has agreed to settle a disability bias suit filed by a former employee after the EEOC accused its HR department of playing doctor in violation of the ADA.

Denying employee a mat to stand on cost salon $27K

08/13/2015
Chiquita, a hairdresser in Atlanta, has scoliosis and asked her employer to provide her with a mat to help alleviate her back pain. The salon refused …

Warn bosses against ADA ‘association bias’

07/28/2015
Your supervisors no doubt 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?

Supreme Court clarifies how to accommodate pregnant employees

07/24/2015
Over the last several years, legislatures around the United States have worked to increase protections for pregnant workers, and the EEOC has identified the treatment of pregnant women in the workplace as one of its top priorities.

Fully recovered employee isn’t disabled

07/24/2015

An employee who has fully recovered from a medical crisis isn’t likely to qualify as disabled under the ADA. Therefore, she would not be entitled to further accommodations. In addition, as this case shows, a few negative comments about her prior condition would not be considered to create a hostile environment.

When a worker’s pace slows, can we ask if it’s health-related?

07/24/2015
Q. We have an experienced employee who is not working at an acceptable pace. We need to address his speed, but we’re concerned he may have medical issues. Can we ask him about his health? — Anonymous, Illinois

Does same-sex ruling affect ADA compliance?

07/17/2015
Q. Does the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision on same-sex marriages have any effect on us with regard to the Americans with Disabilities Act?

‘My boss is stressing me out!’ That’s not a disability requiring accommodation

07/17/2015
Some supervisors may be tougher than others and some employees may not get along with a particular supervisor. It may be a matter of workplace philosophy or even personality conflict. And the employee may genuinely be so stressed and anxious that she needs medical or psychological treatment. But that does not mean that she can demand transfer to a different supervisor as a reasonable accommodation, a California court has ruled.