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Employees need not have a disability to challenge the legality of an employer’s required medical exams, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled in a case of first impression. At the same time, the court also reaffirmed the ability of an employer to request an examination because it was related to performing a […]
Employers must not impose probation on employees for excessive absences that include leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act. To do so is akin to using a disciplinary measure to penalize employees for taking qualified FMLA leave. So ruled the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey as it permitted the FMLA […]
The U.S. Supreme Court again refused to decide whether the Americans with Disabilities Act requires employers to reassign employees with disabilities to vacant positions, without requiring them to compete with other candidates. The Court declined May 28 to hear EEOC v. United Airlines Inc., No. 10-cv-01699, 2012 WL 718503 (7th Cir. March 7, 2012). The circuit-court divide on […]
When an employer fails to participate in the interactive process of finding a workplace accommodation for an employee with a disability, that misstep can be used as evidence of discrimination. Such a failure is not, however, an ADA violation when it stands alone, the 7th Circuit ruled in Basden v. Professional Transportation, Inc., No. 11-2880 […]
The agency responsible for enforcing the Americans with Disabilities has revised several of its guidance documents to reflect recent changes to the law. The May 15 changes were necessary because of the ADA Amendments Act, which expanded the law’s coverage in 2009, the U.S said in a press release. The documents explain how ADA applies […]
The largest jury award ever for a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission suit must be reduced to meet a statutory cap, the commission noted May 10 in final court filings. A court will have the final say over whether the award will be reduced, however. A jury on May 2 awarded $240 million to 32 […]
An Oklahoma employer will pay $50,000 to settle the first lawsuit the federal government filed to enforce the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act. The case, Civil Case No.: 13-CV-248-CVE-PJC, was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which is tasked with enforcing GINA, filed suit […]
The Americans with Disabilities Act’s employment protections only extend to individuals with disabilities who can perform the essential functions of their jobs. And when it comes to deciding which functions are “essential,” courts continue to defer to employers’ judgment. In Knutson v. Schwan’s Home Service, Inc., No. 12-2240, (April 3, 2013), the U.S. 8th Circuit […]
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s failure thus far to issue clear guidance on permissible wellness incentives threatens to undermine employers’ development of wellness programs at a time when their importance is growing, business groups warned the EEOC at a May 8 hearing. “We urge you to recognize the comprehensive regulatory framework that already exists” […]
While the Americans with Disabilities Act may require an employer to remove marginal job functions as an accommodation for an employee with a disability, it does not require the reassignment of all duties. An employee who can do nothing but show up for work is not qualified for ADA’s protections, a recent opinion from the 5th […]