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A trending workplace issue — paid leave for parents of newborns — could soon become a legal mandate for employers. This article summarizes activity at the state level, what’s going on at the federal level, and what employers should do as they observe the debate over parental leave. Parental Leave Is Critical, More Studies Say A growing […]
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced May 15 its intent to issue regulations that create a plan for federal employers to serve as “model employers” of workers with disabilities — a plan that may include a hiring goal, according to the commission. The announcement came just weeks after a 7-percent hiring goal for federal […]
While most courts agree that coming to work regularly is an essential job function, many courts also have found that leave for a specified period of time is a reasonable accommodation if it does not cause an undue hardship. Chai Feldblum, a commissioner with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, discussed “leave as a reasonable accommodation” under the ADA […]
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires employers to not discriminate against qualified individuals with disabilities. It also requires that those individuals should be given reasonable accommodations (whenever applicable) to allow them to perform the essential functions of the job, as long as doing so does not create an undue hardship for the employer. Let’s […]
Here is a “Do” and “Do Not” list based on the outcome of 10 claims for interference and retaliation filed by the U.S. Department of Labor or aggrieved employees that the courts have tried in the first four months of 2014. Staying in compliance with the Family and Medical Leave Act and the Americans with […]
An employee’s obesity may be a disability covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act, a federal district court has held. The employer challenged the claim, arguing that the ADA does not cover obesity, but the court disagreed, refusing to dismiss the suit. Joseph Whittaker sued his former employer, America’s Car-Mart, Inc., alleging that the company […]
Effective job descriptions are important. Compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is important. But how are the two tied together? Does the ADA place specific requirements on job description contents? The technical answer to that question is no, the ADA does not impose specific requirements on the job description. But the longer answer […]
By Lura Peterson Having a disabled-friendly HR policy and structure is beneficial to an organization in many ways. Employees with disabilities are as productive as those with no disabilities if they are properly trained. Also, disabled employees give a high return on investment by way of qualifications, high retention rates, and the tax sops provided […]
An Oklahoma receptionist diagnosed with Lupus less than two months before losing her job to a reduction in force has advanced her state and federal disability bias and retaliation claims against her former employer following a federal district court ruling. Cynthia Reed, whose position was eliminated and mostly automated just two days after she requested […]
A company’s policy of requiring a doctor’s note for each intermittent absence under the Family and Medical Leave Act violates FMLA because the policy directly conflicts with FMLA’s recertification procedure. So ruled a federal district court in a consolidation of cases that presented an issue of first impression in the jurisdiction of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court […]