Offering Practical Guidance to Employers
A plaintiff’s claim that she was constructively discharged because her employer refused to transfer her to an office closer to the place where she received therapy to deal with the pain caused by her arthritis has survived her employer’s motion to dismiss.
The plaintiff worked in the home office of a child welfare agency. She…
A mammography tech with epilepsy is not a qualified individual with a disability under the ADA because she cannot perform the essential functions of her job "during the indefinite periods in which she was incapacitated," according to the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals. Olsen v. Capital Region Medical Center (8th Cir. May 7, 2013). We…
On May 15, 2013, the EEOC issued revised “Q & A” documents addressing how the ADA applies to job applicants and employees with cancer, diabetes, epilepsy and learning disabilities. http://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/newsroom/release/5-15-13.cfm
Each of the revised Q & A documents also answers questions about topics such as: when an employer may obtain medical information from applicants and…
An employer lawfully terminated an employee pursuant to an attendance policy that did not distinguish between absences for medical reasons and other reasons, according to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals. Basden v. Professional Transportation, Inc. (7th Cir. May 8, 2013). Some of the plaintiff’s absences were due to the onset and symptoms of her…
Arriving to work on time might not be an essential function if the late employee would still be able to complete his work in a timely manner, according to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. McMillan v. City of New York (2nd Cir. March 4, 2013).
The plaintiff, a case manager for NYC’s Human Resources…
There was this one, this one, and now yet another multi-million dollar settlement with the EEOC involving allegations that an employer had an inflexible leave policy. The EEOC announced that Dillard’s had agreed to pay $2 million as part of a consent decree to resolve the agency’s allegations relating to the company’s medical…
We haveposted previously about the ADA’s “accommodation of last resort”: when an employee cannot perform the essential functions of his or her position, with or without an accommodation, due to a disability, an employer must consider transferring the employee to a vacant lateral or lower position for which the employee is qualified.
Whether a …
Is vegan-ism a moral and ethical belief or a social philosophy or dietary preference, and what does this question have to do with disability, health and leave management at work?
It starts with the flu and, in particular, a hospital’s requirement that all employees get a flu shot. Some health care employers have such a…
We posted previously about the Seventh Circuit holding in EEOC v. United Airlines that, in deciding whether a disabled employee who cannot perform the essential functions of his or her position is entitled to a vacant position as an accommodation under the ADA, the employer must disregard its policy of awarding positions to the best-qualified…
Add another multi-million dollar settlement notch to the EEOC’s “inflexible leave” belt. The EEOC announced that national trucking company Interstate Distributor Company will pay $4.85 million to resolve a nationwide class disability discrimination lawsuit the EEOC had brought against Interstate.
The lawsuit alleged that Interstate had a policy of terminating employees who needed more than…
