As employers struggle with managing how much, if any, leave is required as an accommodation under the ADA, we are beginning to get more direction from the Courts to guide those decisions. In Easter v. Arkansas Children’s Hospital (E.D. Ark. Oct. 3, 2018) an employee was unable to work after exhausting her FMLA leave but
Extending Leave Was Not A Reasonable Accommodation Under The ADA Where There Was A Lack Of “Certainty” About Return To Work Date
While employers generally accept that they cannot apply a maximum leave period after which employees are automatically terminated, they continue to struggle with how much leave must be provided as a form of accommodation under the ADA. There is little dispute that leave for an indefinite period where the employee has a long term chronic
Supreme Court Nominee Has Put “Reasonable” into Reasonable Accommodation Obligations
In case your news and twitter accounts are down, and you otherwise have not heard the news… President Trump has nominated Judge Gorsuch from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit to fill Justice Antonin Scalia’s vacant Supreme Court seat. There are surely countless articles about his nomination hitting the airwaves even as I type this, but for employers who struggle with leave management issues, a quick review of the Hwang v. Kansas State University decision, authored by Judge Gorsuch, may provide employers with hope that leave management law could move in the right direction.
Continue Reading Supreme Court Nominee Has Put “Reasonable” into Reasonable Accommodation Obligations
EEOC Explains ADA Interference – Employers Take Note
On August 25, 2016, the EEOC issued its Enforcement Guidance on Retaliation and Related Issues. In addition to outlining expanded definitions of “opposition” and “participation” activity with respect to retaliation claims, the EEOC also addressed section 503(b) of the ADA. Section 503(b) makes it unlawful to “coerce, intimidate, threaten or interfere” with an individual who attempts to exercise ADA rights or one who assists or encourages others to do so.
What Makes ADA Interference Different
In its guidance, the EEOC notes the interference provisions of the ADA are broader than the statute’s anti-retaliation provisions. Specifically, actions that may not be materially adverse for a retaliation claim may suffice for an interference action. Another distinguishing feature of an ADA interference claim, according to the agency, is that an individual pursuing relief need not be a qualified person with a disability.
Continue Reading EEOC Explains ADA Interference – Employers Take Note
Unlike Godot, ADA Leave Guidance Arrives
Inflexible Leave Policies under the ADA since Hwang
Since 2009, the EEOC has sued numerous employers who have terminated employees pursuant to an inflexible leave policy, a policy that provides a defined amount of leave and results in an employee’s termination once the employee exhausts that leave. The EEOC argues that such policies are unlawful because they do not allow for additional leave
EEOC Settles Another Inflexible Leave Policy Lawsuit
Less than one month after the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals held that an employer policy that limits the amount of leave time any employee may take was fair, lawful and protects disabled employees, an employer sued by the EEOC for having such a policy has agreed to pay $1.35 million and “undertake significant remedial
And Yet Another Multi-Million ADA Settlement Involving an Inflexible Leave Policy
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
Yet Another Multi-Million Dollar ADA Settlement for Alleged “Inflexible Leave” Policy
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
EEOC Continues Its Attack on “Inflexible” Leave Policies
The EEOC’s challenge to “inflexible” leave policies continued this week, as the agency announced that it had sued Princeton HealthCare System for failing to reasonably accommodate employees who needed medical leave. According to the EEOC press release, Princeton HealthCare "fires employees" who are not qualified for FMLA leave and refuses to grant leave