The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 (ADAAA) prohibit an employer from discriminating against an individual who is (1) disabled within the statutes’ meaning and (2) qualified to perform the essential job functions with or without a reasonable accommodation. Once an employee discloses the need for a reasonable accommodation, […]
In years past, employees who requested remote working arrangements were often met with strong resistance from managers, who viewed such requests as excuses to shirk responsibilities. Holding firm to a “face time” mentality, many members of management believed employees simply couldn’t be efficient and focused if they routinely worked from home. Then, of course, the […]
An employer wasn’t liable to a former employee who alleged he was terminated because of a disability, his alcoholism, the 5th Circuit recently decided. Although the appeals court didn’t directly address whether alcoholism qualified as a protected disability when it upheld a New Orleans-based district court ruling, the opinion offers guidance on how employers can […]
The world at large is learning how to work from home and do so efficiently. But for some, the struggle to maintain productive full-time employment from home is harder than for others. While you may think it’s a personal problem for the employee to resolve, thanks to a lesser-known discrimination theory, the headaches could soon […]
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has updated its technical assistance Q&As, answering additional questions about the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on federal employment laws the agency enforces.
With the growing concern over coronavirus, last week the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) released “What You Should Know About the ADA, the Rehabilitation Act and the Coronavirus.” The short article notes that the agency’s standard pandemic guidance identifies “relevant established principles and answers questions frequently asked about the workplace during Coronavirus-like events.”
With limited resources and time, it can be challenging for employers to initiate annual Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) training programs for their managers and supervisors. However, the Department of Labor routinely reports that supervisor training is a top area of non-compliance for employers. If organizations don’t properly […]
Summers can bring a much-welcomed period of sunshine, good spirits, and vacation, but summer is no time to let good management practices take a vacation as well. Lawsuits are typically more difficult to defend than they are to prevent, and ensuring proper prevention generally falls on management’s shoulders—whether that be an entity’s owner, chief executive […]
A recent case from the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals (whose rulings apply to all Tennessee employers) illustrates the pitfalls of failing to modify workplace policies to accommodate workplace requests and highlights the importance of supervisory training.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has quietly maintained its focus on disability discrimination. Since July 1, 2018, the agency has filed 19 lawsuits alleging various violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and has collected more than $6 million in settlements.