Tag: Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

Using Artificial Intelligence Hiring Tools May Lead to Disability Discrimination

Employers using artificial intelligence (AI) to evaluate job applicants and employees may run afoul of laws prohibiting discrimination against people with disabilities, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recently warned. If your business is relying on that increasingly common technology, be sure it isn’t having a disparate impact […]

Watch Out for Scope Creep in Flexible Work Arrangements

Despite best intentions and nondiscriminatory business motivations, some groups of employees may reap more of the benefits of flexible work arrangements than others simply because their circumstances make such options more attractive to them. Accordingly, you should take steps to ensure flexible work arrangements are offered and implemented without discrimination on any prohibited basis. In […]

DOJ Issues Web Accessibility Guidance, Falls Short of Setting Specific Standards

For several years, businesses have been hammered with website accessibility lawsuits that argued all places of public accommodation, including online retailers and hospitality businesses, must have websites users with visual or other impairments can access. The lawsuits arise from Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which generally provides that places of public accommodation […]

Is COVID-19 a Disability Under the ADA? It Depends

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recently released guidance regarding whether COVID-19 is a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Under the ADA, an employer cannot take an adverse employment action against an individual because of a disability, which is a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits a major life activity. The […]

ADA Doesn’t Protect Train Engineer From Turning Over Medical Records

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) limits an employer’s right to require a current employee to provide information about his medical conditions. Only in situations where the need to obtain such health information is necessary to determine whether the employee can perform the job functions and do so in a safe manner is the medical […]

EEOC Announces Settlement with Winston-Salem Company

When an employer is sued for discrimination and decides to settle the case, the details are confidential. When the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) sues an employer, however, the settlement is very public and includes a press release giving details about the resolution. Recently, the EEOC announced a settlement with a Winston-Salem company in a […]

Reassigning Disabled Employee to Another Job May Violate ADA

If disabled employees can’t be reasonably accommodated in their current job, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires you to consider reassigning them to a vacant position they are qualified to perform. Under the Act, however, reassignment isn’t a preferred accommodation. As the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals emphasized in a recent case, you […]

ADA

MN Employer’s Attendance Policy Outweighs Former Employee’s ADA, FMLA Claims

Regular attendance at the worksite can be an essential job function, the U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals (whose rulings apply to all Minnesota employers) recently reminded employers, upholding the termination of an employee who had violated the employer’s attendance policy. As a result, the former employee can no longer pursue her Americans with Disabilities […]