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An employer will pay $88,500 to settle claims that it failed to provide the right accommodation to a worker with a disability, in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The settlement resolves a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission behalf of Jose Arteaga Rivas, a sheet metal mechanic who worked for […]
Reasonable accommodations are a pain and are subject to abuse, says Attorney Lawrence Postol, but litigation over the failure to provide accommodations, with a trial by jury, is a bigger pain and subject to greater abuse. Postol, who is a partner in the Washington, D.C., office of Seyfarth Shaw, LLP, offered his Americans with Disabilities […]
Postol, who is a partner in the Washington, D.C., office of Seyfarth Shaw, LLP, offered his ADA tips at SHRM’s Employment Law and Legislative Conference, held recently in Washington, D.C. What Defenses Are Left Employers still have some cards to play in the ADA game. Postol suggest employers take note of the following: 1. Employer […]
Employees need not have a disability to challenge the legality of an employer’s required medical exams, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled in a case of first impression. At the same time, the court also reaffirmed the ability of an employer to request an examination because it was related to performing a […]
Employers must not impose probation on employees for excessive absences that include leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act. To do so is akin to using a disciplinary measure to penalize employees for taking qualified FMLA leave. So ruled the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey as it permitted the FMLA […]
The U.S. Supreme Court again refused to decide whether the Americans with Disabilities Act requires employers to reassign employees with disabilities to vacant positions, without requiring them to compete with other candidates. The Court declined May 28 to hear EEOC v. United Airlines Inc., No. 10-cv-01699, 2012 WL 718503 (7th Cir. March 7, 2012). The circuit-court divide on […]
When an employer fails to participate in the interactive process of finding a workplace accommodation for an employee with a disability, that misstep can be used as evidence of discrimination. Such a failure is not, however, an ADA violation when it stands alone, the 7th Circuit ruled in Basden v. Professional Transportation, Inc., No. 11-2880 […]
In fact, we turned to SmartJobs for the five questions that can help you decide whether a function is an essential function: 1. Does the position exist specifically to perform this function? For example, when a person is hired to proofread legal documents, the ability to proofread is an essential function. Or, for example, a […]
If you do have job descriptions, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has said that it will review or consider them, as well as other relevant information, when determining essential functions. Therefore, it is important to keep job descriptions current. Claiming later that some function not listed on the description is a task essential to […]