Tag: disabled employees

Get interactive, rules federal appellate court

by Brandon Gearhart A recent decision from the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals (whose rulings apply to all Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and Tennessee employers) illustrates the importance of the interactive process when making employment decisions about a disabled worker. The court returned a previously dismissed Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) claim to the lower […]

Employees on the autism spectrum: guidance for employers

by Tammy Binford Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) – a group of developmental disabilities that can cause social, communication, and behavioral challenges – affect one in 88 children and one in 54 boys, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). That makes autism the fastest-growing serious developmental disability in the United States, […]

Federal government touts increase in employment of people with disabilities

When President Obama signed Executive Order 13548 on July 26, 2010, he specifically set a goal of hiring 100,000 people with disabilities by 2015. The U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) not only lead federal agencies in the first two quarters of 2012 with 4.2 percent of all new hires being people with disabilities, the agency […]

Technology can make the workplace more accessible to the disabled

by Tammy Binford It’s natural to question what the future will bring to the workplace. How many more resources will the Internet make available? What new apps have the potential to revolutionize the world of work? How will technology enable employees to overcome disabilities? The questions – and answers – seem limitless as technology advances […]

Ex-EEOC employee met requirements to pursue disability claim against agency

by Nancy Williams Just as private-sector workers are required to file an administrative charge of discrimination before filing a lawsuit under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, federal employees also have prefiling requirements. In a disability discrimination case against the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the 9th Circuit recently decided that the […]

Employing People with Disabilities: What Does New Proposed Rule Mean?

By Tammy Binford Government statistics show that unemployment among people with disabilities is far higher than unemployment for people without disabilities. Year-end figures for 2011 are not yet available, but the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has figures revealing that the 2010 unemployment rate for people with disabilities was 14.8 percent. That’s more than one […]

More Protections for Disabled Employees Coming

By Alix Herber and Michelle Johnston The Ontario government is leading the Canadian provinces in its push for accessibility for people with disabilities, a ratio that is estimated to rise to one in five people in Canada by 2025. In accordance with a new regulation under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA), Ontario […]

Declaration to ‘Make Employee Whole’ Very Costly for Employers

By Karen Sargeant You give your employee almost 32 weeks’ pay after terminating his employment without cause. He gets another job two weeks later. You’re off the hook, right? Maybe not. The Ontario Superior Court of Justice in Brito v. Canac Kitchens, a Division of Kohler Canada Co. has recently said no. Instead, you may […]

Employer’s Obligation to Make Inquiries in the Duty to Accommodate Confirmed

By Mark Colavecchia The duty to accommodate is one of the most difficult issues Canadian employers regularly face. While courts across the country have attempted to define the scope of an employer’s legal obligations with a workable degree of certainty, the practical application of the duty to accommodate remains complex and problematic. The issue is […]