ADA Accommodations: “100% Healed” Return-To-Work Policies Ruled Illegal

If you require a disabled employee to be completely recovered before returning to work, it’s important to reconsider that policy in light of the Ninth Circuit’s recent ruling involving Amtrak (see above). In the case, a disabled ticket agent who could no longer perform her job claimed that her supervisor wouldn’t allow her to bid on another position until she fully recovered from an arm injury. The Court ruled that “100% healed” policies – which arbitrarily prohibit disabled employees from returning to work until they are fully healed – violate the ADA. Instead, in each case you must make an individual assessment of whether the worker can perform the job with or without an accommodation.