• The HR Specialist - Print Newsletter
  • HR Specialist: Employment Law
  • The HR Weekly

ADA

Normal pregnancy difficulties aren’t ADA or MHRA disabilities

08/13/2009

Pregnant women have many legal protections under Title VII’s sex discrimination provisions, the Pregnancy Discrimination Act and the FMLA. They rarely, however, qualify as disabled. That’s because normal pregnancies may create temporary difficulties, but they’re not severe enough to count as substantial limitations …

ADA: Driving could be a major life activity

08/11/2009

Most federal appeals courts have concluded that driving is not a major life activity under the ADA. Thus a disability that simply impairs the ability to drive isn’t covered under the law. But what if the inability to drive prevents someone from holding a wide range of jobs? Does that mean the individual is substantially impaired in the major life activity of working? According to one federal trial court considering a Florida case, the answer is yes.

Does the FMLA cover intermittent leave for in vitro fertilization?

08/07/2009

Q. One of my employees has informed me that she is about to begin undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatments. She requested some intermittent time off from work. Am I required to grant her request?

Try out accommodation, rescind it if necessary

08/06/2009

Disabled employees are entitled to reasonable accommodations that allow them to perform the essential functions of their jobs. If those accommodations turn out to be unreasonable—that is, they prove to be an undue burden on the employer—then they can be withdrawn. What it means: There’s no harm in trying an accommodation.

Don’t think a successful workers’ comp case lets you off the ADA accommodation hook

08/06/2009

Employees who are disabled after an injury on the job often apply for workers’ compensation. Receiving those benefits, however, isn’t a bar to asserting ADA and state disability claims, as a federal court hearing a New York case recently concluded.

Brooklyn complex settles disability bias case

08/06/2009

Managers of the massive federally funded Starrett City housing complex in Brooklyn have settled with the EEOC, bringing a halt to a lawsuit that accused the management company of disability discrimination after it allegedly failed to promote an employee because he suffers from attention deficit disorder.

Dust off your benefits policies: More mandates may be on the way

08/06/2009

The federal government has slowly been introducing laws that force employers across the country to provide employee benefits: for example, the FMLA, USERRA and the ADA. Now Congress is considering several legislative initiatives that would require employers to provide additional benefits.

Lilly and Carlos: Questions and answers on the Ledbetter Act’s unintended consequences

08/04/2009

The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act was designed to ensure pay equity for women. It does a whole lot more than that! Learn how this landmark legislation affects all protected employee classes and could influence your employee benefits program.

How to legally manage pregnancy and maternity leaves

07/28/2009

When an employee announces she’s pregnant, it’s important for HR and supervisors to know what they must do—and what they can’t do (or say) under federal anti-discrimination and leave laws. Most employers must comply with the Pregnancy Discrimination Act and the FMLA. The ADA may apply if pregnancy complications arise.

Be sure to document if worker says she doesn’t need leave

07/24/2009

If an employee rebuffs your offers to consider her for ADA accommodations or FMLA leave, make sure you document her desires. That way, she can’t come back later and claim you didn’t accommodate her or give her leave.