Offering Practical Guidance to Employers
Add Philly to the quickly growing list of jurisdictions requiring employers to accommodate pregnant employees.
The Philadelphia Ordinance requires employers, upon request, to reasonably accommodate an employee “for needs related to pregnancy, childbirth, or a related medical condition” unless to do so will cause an undue hardship.
Examples of reasonable accommodation include “restroom breaks, periodic…
As I read and re-read the OFCCP’s14 points of guidance to employers interested in establishing a “best practice” reasonable accommodation program, Appendix B to the Section 503 regulations issued in August, I had a déjà vu moment. I kept thinking that I had previously read something remarkably similar to the 14 points.
It finally came…
On September 24, 2013, the New York City Council unanimously approved legislation that requires most New York City employers to provide reasonable accommodation for an employee’s pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions. While the legislation must be approved by the Mayor to become law, the City Council passed the measure by a seemingly veto-proof 47-0…
A request for a reserved, on-site, free parking space is a request for an accommodation under the ADA even though it does not relate to the performance of essential job functions, according to a decision by the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Feist v. State of Louisiana, (5th Cir. Sept.
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) today announced a Final Rule that makes historic changes to the regulations implementing Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act with regard to the employment of individuals with disabilities, referred to in the Rule as “IWDs.” As explained in the DOL’s announcement, “Section…
In Cleveland v. Policy Management Systems Corp., the United States Supreme Court created a framework for analyzing how inconsistent statements on applications for disability benefits concerning a plaintiff’s ability to work affect an ADA claim.The analysis focuses on whether the plaintiff’s statements “genuinely conflicted with her ADA claim” and if so, whether the plaintiff…
Must an employer bend its rule prohibiting an employee with discipline from transferring to another position as a reasonable accommodation if the request to transfer is due to a disability?
We posted recently about a case where an employer denied an employee’s request to telecommute or relocate his office for a medical reason because he…
A lab worker with health problems as a result of her work with a solvent submitted the following request for an accommodation: “Avoid any type of work where she would have exposure to organic solvents. Transfer to another line of work. Avoidance of irritants.”
The employer denied the request but offered the plaintiff a full…
An essential function of full time work is that an employee actually work full time! The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit recently concluded that an individual who requested that she be allowed to continue working part time did not request a reasonable accommodation under the ADA. White v. Standard Insurance Co.,…
An amputee’s request for work breaks to adjust his prosthesis may be a request for an accommodation under the ADA, according to a federal district court. Morton v. Cooper Tire & Rubber (N.D. MS, June 18, 2013). The employee was training to operate a machine which ran for twelve hour shifts. To complete the training…
