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ADA

ADA: Is worker’s demand for parking space ‘reasonable’?

01/22/2014
Employers have been told for years that the ADA requires them to accommodate disabled employees so workers can perform their jobs’ essential functions. But as this ADA-expanding court ruling shows, you may need to be more open to accommodating any kind of accommodation request—not just one that’s linked to essential functions …

ADA: Overview

01/11/2014

HR Law 101: The Americans with Disabilities Act prohibits discrimination against qualified individuals with disabilities who can perform a job’s essential functions with or without reasonable accommodation. All employers that have 15 or more employees must comply with the law …

ADA: Drug and Alcohol Addiction

01/10/2014

HR Law 101: The ADA requires employers to walk a fine line between enforcing reasonable workplace safety and behavioral rules and making accommodations for those who are addicted to drugs or alcohol. The law doesn’t protect current users of illegal (i.e., “street”) drugs, but it does protect alcoholics and those who’ve shaken their drug addiction sufficiently to no longer be classified as active illegal users …

ADA: What to do when employee won’t cooperate

01/08/2014
The ADA says you must reasonably accommodate disabled employees. That requires substantial discussion with the employee to understand her condition and formulate a solution.

ADA accommodations too costly? Too bad!

01/08/2014
Don’t let cost-cutting measures derail ADA reasonable accommodations requests. Offering an accommodation may be far cheaper than losing a failure-to-accommodate lawsuit.

ADA: Mental Disabilities

01/08/2014

HR Law 101: A few years ago, the EEOC released guidelines that clarify employers’ responsibilities in applying the ADA to workers with psychiatric disabilities. The law protects persons with mental disabilities, and employers must reasonably accommodate them …

Words matter at work: Beware these 5 ‘lightning rod’ terms

01/07/2014
Layoff or firing? Probationary or permanent em­­ployee? Using the wrong employment-related terminology with an employee can expose your company to costly lawsuits.

ADA: Employer gets to choose accommodation

01/07/2014
It’s the employer that gets to choose a reasonable accommodation for a disabled worker, not the employee. While a disabled worker may prefer one solution over another, that’s not relevant.

‘Current’ drug users may not be disabled

01/07/2014
Can employers fire drug addicts? Or are they disabled and protected under the ADA and the Texas Commission on Human Rights Act (TCHRA)? That depends on individual circumstances and the definition of “current” addiction.

Offer temp job to driver too injured to drive?

01/03/2014
Q. Recently, one of our delivery drivers was hurt at home and is now unable to drive. Should we offer alternative employment?