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Employers, pay heed. A recent court outcome — and hefty monetary award for the employee — reiterate the fact that alcoholism is a disability protected under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Following a five-day trial a federal jury in Pennsylvania awarded more than $109,000 to a cook whose rights, it found, had been violated when […]
An employee’s attorney must pay $5,000 for omitting important information in an Americans with Disabilities Act lawsuit, the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled. In Kempter v. Michigan Bell Telephone Co. , No. 13-1036 (6th Cir. Aug. 26, 2013), the plaintiff’s attorney failed to mention that that his client, Cathie Kempter, had been permanently restricted […]
There are three key ways the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) differs from other discrimination statutes, says Attorney Joan Farrell: the layers of analysis required, the obligation to consider reasonable accommodation, and the added prohibition against association discrimination. Layers of Analysis The ADA requires a several step analysis, but it is not hard if you […]
Federal contractors soon will have to establish benchmarks for hiring veterans and employing individuals with disabilities as a result of two new rules from the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP). The new regulations are expected to be published in the Federal Register within the next couple of weeks, […]
Federal contractors and subcontractors must soon meet a hiring goal for workers with disabilities, the U.S. Department of Labor announced Aug. 27. New regulations have been finalized that will, among other things, require contractors to ensure that workers with disabilities make up 7 percent of their workforces. In addition to the hiring goal, the rules require that […]
An employee who abused drugs and then failed to complete a rehabilitation program was not entitled to job protection by the Americans With Disabilities Act or the Family and Medical Leave Act, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled. ADA does not protect illegal drug users who are not seeking treatment, and FMLA does […]
The U.S. Postal Service will pay $4.5 million to settle claims that it failed to accommodate employees with hearing impairments. The court-approved agreement ends the decade-long class action dispute. The class action (Hubbard v. Donahoe, No. 03-1062 (RJL) (D.D.C. July 31, 2013)) stemmed from two related actions brought before the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. […]
The U.S. Department of Justice discriminated against an individual with a disability in its hiring process, in violation of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has found. EEOC determined that DOJ ran afoul of the law, which prohibits disability discrimination by entities receiving federal funds, when it rescinded a conditional […]
A recent appeals court ruling indicates that an employer may wait and see if short-term disability benefits are granted or denied to the employee on leave before it sends a request for medical certification that verifies the employee’s eligibility under the Family and Medical Leave Act. In Kinds v. Ohio Bell Telephone Company, No. 12-4048 […]
Federal courts are off to “a promising start” in issuing rulings under the ADA Amendments Act according to the National Council on Disability, an independent federal agency. NCD says that recent rulings are a substantial improvement over pre-amendments decisions in achieving the broad scope of coverage that Congress intended. That finding is part of an […]