Tag: Americans with Disabilities Act

How Do I Deal with a Disabled Worker’s Attendance Problems?

Q: We’ve been going through the interactive process with one of our employees (we’ll call him Mike). As a result, we’ve been accommodating him with unpaid leaves for the last year. It’s been tough, and Mike’s supervisors have told me more than once that they need to terminate him and move on. According to them, […]

EEOC Opinion Letter Addresses ADA and PTSD

(Updated February 4, 2010) In March of 2008, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) addressed an issue employers may face more frequently than ever before: What obligations does the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) place on employers with regard to employees who have posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)? HR Guide to Employment Law: A practical compliance […]

Keeping workers safe in hot weather

Keep Workers Safe During Hot Weather

Summer is in full swing so it’s time to make sure employees stay safe in the hot weather. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) doesn’t have a specific standard for addressing heat stress. However, the agency has previously issued citations to employers that have allowed employees to be exposed to a risk of serious […]

Can I Fire an Employee for Being Loud?

Q We run a fine-dining restaurant in which the ambient atmosphere is an integral part of our business. We host many business lunches and other professional-type meetings because of the quiet and relaxed environment. That environment has changed a little bit lately as the result of our new hostess, Kimberly. Kimberly is quite the talker. […]

Can I Fire an Employee for Being Loud?

Q We run a fine-dining restaurant in which the ambient atmosphere is an integral part of our business. We host many business lunches and other professional-type meetings because of the quiet and relaxed environment. That environment has changed a little bit lately as the result of our new hostess, Kimberly. Kimberly is quite the talker. […]

Worker Hands Employer Tough FMLA, ADA Case

(Updated Dec. 30, 2009) Q. We have an employee who works as an administrative assistant. She was recently in a car accident and injured her arm, hand, and wrist. Her main job duty is to transcribe documents. That often requires her to type for hours at a time. She also is responsible for taking handwritten […]

Pets in the Office

(Updated April 15, 2009) by Hillary J. Collyer With all the recent press about America’s new first dog, Bo Obama, we thought it would be timely to address the issue of pets in the workplace — after all, the White House isn’t just the country’s most famous residence, it’s also a workplace. According to the […]

3 Tough Disciplinary Issues: Drug and Alcohol Use, Insubordination, Workplace Searches

by Stuart R. Buttrick Although the types of misconduct that employees can engage in is unlimited, some disciplinary issues occur over and over again. Among the most common — and difficult — issues for employers to handle are drug and alcohol use, insubordination, and workplace searches of company or employee property. This article will offer […]

Employee With Perfume Allergy Loses Discrimination Claim

(Updated October 2008) A federal appeals court affirmed the dismissal of a disability discrimination claim based on perfume sensitivity. It found that the employer reasonably accommodated the employee by taking various measures, including prohibiting perfume in the workplace. HR Guide to Employment Law: A practical compliance reference manual covering 14 topics, including the Americans with […]

What To Do When the FMLA Lights Come Up

You’re sitting in your favorite HR juke joint, crying into your beer over the pain and heartache your employees have caused you this week. After a few cold ones, solving the world’s HR problems begins to look simple. Then, as you near that moment of perfect clarity, the lights come up and the bartender shouts, […]