A parent otherwise eligible for FMLA leave can use that leave to care for a child 18 years of age or older, if that child (1) has a “disability” under the ADA; (2) is incapable of self-care due to that disability; (3) has a “serious health condition” under the FMLA; and (4) needs care due
Swine Flu Snafu: Court Tosses ADA Perceived Disability Claim Based on Employer’s Mistaken Perception
By Jackson Lewis P.C. on
Posted in ADA
The company told the plaintiff he was being terminated because it “feared that he had contracted swine flu while in Mexico for his sister’s funeral.” For a time, swine flu had been declared a public health emergency and medical authorities feared the worst. We now know that the swine flu hospitality and mortality profile is very similar…
General Inquiry Not a “Medical Inquiry” under the ADA Despite Response Laden with Medical Information
By Jackson Lewis P.C. on
Posted in ADA
An employer’s email to a “no call/no show” employee asking “what is going on” is not a “medical inquiry” under the ADA, according to the 7th Circuit.eeoc v. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans (7th Cir. Nov. 20. 2012).
The Court rejected the EEOC’s argument that the word “inquiries” in the “Medical Examinations and Inquiries” section…
EEOC Does Not Issue ADA Attendance Guidance, Yet Again
By Jackson Lewis P.C. on
Posted in ADA
The extent of an employer’s obligation to extend leave and excuse absences as a reasonable accommodation under the ADA is perhaps the most vexing ADA issue for employers. In June 2011, the EEOC held a public hearing on leave as a reasonable accommodation, and suggested it might issue guidance on the topic in 2011. When…
Employee With Migraines Not Disabled–There’s Hope for the “Coverage” Obsessors!
By Jackson Lewis P.C. on
Posted in ADA
In 2011, an EEOC Commissioner noted that one aim of the ADAAA was to have the parties “stop obsessing about coverage”, i.e., about who is “disabled,” and move to the merits of the substantive claim.
A Tenth Circuit decision suggests that there is still value in obsessing about ADA coverage. In Allen v.
Excusing Absences as a Reasonable Accommodation–Part 2
By Jackson Lewis P.C. on
Posted in ADA
The "law" or "lore" requiring employers to accommodate employees by excusing absence has reshaped employer attendance and productivity expectations. Some say the law, as interpreted by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, goes too far and creates an elusive and unworkable standard for managing employee attendance and productivity.
To assist our clients and contacts in separating…