In yesterday’s Advisor, we covered workers’ compensation and the FMLA; today, it’s the ADA, plus an invitation to a special webinar on terminating workers’ compensation claimants.
Again with a nod to HR.BLR.com, here are the key factors for managing employees who are out on workers compensation and qualify as a person with a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
Two Different Definitions
In most cases, the definition of disability under state workers’ compensation laws differs from that under the ADA, because the state laws serve a different purpose.
An ADA disability is any impairment, work-related or not, that “substantially limits one or more major life activities of a person or the person has a record of such an impairment or is regarded as having such an impairment.”
Workers’ compensation laws are designed to provide needed assistance to workers who suffer work-related injuries, whereas the ADA’s purpose is to protect disabled people from discrimination.
Many workers’ compensation injuries are not “disabling” under the ADA because they do not substantially limit a worker’s ability to perform a major life activity.
It is also possible for an impairment that is not “substantially limiting” in one circumstance to result in disability in other circumstances. For example, suppose a construction worker falls and breaks a leg and the leg heals normally within a few months.
Although this worker may be awarded workers’ compensation benefits for the injury, he or she would not be considered a person with a disability under the ADA. However, if the worker’s leg took significantly longer to heal than the usual healing period for this type of injury, and during this period the worker could not walk, he or she would be considered to have a disability. Or, if the injury caused a permanent and limiting limp, the worker might be considered disabled under the ADA.
Workers’ Comp—annoying enough on its own, but add in FMLA and ADA and you’ve got a real stew. BLR’s upcoming webinar will get you up to speed—without leaving the building. Click here for details.
One of the trickiest workers’ comp challenges that HR managers face is terminating workers who have filed comp claims. Are they effectively immune? What steps must you follow, what documentation do you need to deal with this difficult, but all-too-common situation? And what about FMLA/ADA entanglements?
Once cleared to return to work, a workers’ comp claimant may request a light-duty accommodation, which could trigger ADA protections. You’re also dealing with potential FMLA leave issues, as well as job restoration rights provided by your state’s workers’ comp law. And don’t forget about possible exceptions to the at-will doctrine. One false move and you could find yourself in a heap of legal trouble.
For practical guidance on dealing with these quicksand issues, our editors recommend a new 90-minute audio conference called Workers’ Comp: How to Discipline or Terminate Claimants Without Triggering Lawsuits.
Can you terminate or even discipline someone on workers’ comp? A special webinar brings clarity on August 17. Click here for details.
The date is August 17, 2010. The time, 1:30 pm to 3 pm (Eastern Time—adjust for your time zone). As with all BLR webinars, one fee trains all the staff you can fit around a conference phone, you can get your (and their) specific phoned-in or emailed questions answered in an extensive Q&A that follows the presentation, and your satisfaction is assured or you get a full refund.
What if you can’t attend on that date? Pre-order the conference CD. For more information on the conference and the experts presenting it, to register, or to pre-order the CD, click here. We’ll be happy to make the arrangements.
Please join us August 17 for Workers’ Comp: How to Discipline or Terminate Claimants Without Triggering Lawsuits. Get more information.