ADA

Strict physical requirements appropriate for risky jobs

04/25/2008

Some jobs are more dangerous than others if employees can’t perform them safely. For those types of positions, you can require periodic physical exams and suspend employees found to have physical problems that could increase the likelihood of an accident. If you do so, you don’t have to worry that you’ll violate the ADA …

Association discrimination covers friends, not just family

04/18/2008

California law and the ADA protect just about anyone who “associates” with a disabled person from discrimination. It doesn’t have to be a child, spouse or blood relative. The California Fair Employment and Housing Act and the Unruh Act both protect those who count disabled persons as friends …

A dim-Witted way to cut your organization’s health costs

04/17/2008

Do some of your employees’ spouses or children have serious (and expensive) health troubles? It may be tempting to offer suggestions about less costly treatments—or even to send that employee packing. But don’t do it. As this new ruling shows, it’s illegal to discriminate against employees based on their relationship with a disabled person …

Must we offer time off as an ADA accommodation?

04/17/2008

Q. We employ fewer than 50 employees. What’s our obligation under the FMLA or the ADA to bring back an employee who has missed lots of work? We want to lay her off. Can we?

Remind managers and supervisors: No snide comments on disability allowed

04/14/2008

It takes just one unkind comment about an employee’s alleged disability to send an ADA case to trial. What’s more, even if the employee couldn’t otherwise prove she’s disabled, a malicious comment may be enough to convince the court that the employer regarded the employee as disabled. That’s an ADA violation all by itself …

ADA and reasonable accommodations

04/10/2008

Q. We have a two-story building with production operations on the first floor and administrative offices on both the first and second floors. There is no elevator in the building. An office employee who works in a department on the second floor has been off work for a back injury. Now he wants to return to work but cannot climb the stairs. Do we have to reassign the employee to the first floor? There is no available space there, and the employee’s work duties are on the second floor …

Don’t fear informal ADA accommodation: You can still challenge disability later

04/09/2008

Most employers start thinking about possible ADA accommodations right away, before they are sure that the affected employees are actually disabled. That’s fine and won’t mean the employers can’t require medical proof later. Agreeing to accommodate is not the same as admitting the employee is disabled …

Mandatory firing after year’s absence doesn’t violate ADA requirements

04/07/2008

Does your organization have a blanket policy that limits time off for any reason to no more than 12 consecutive months? If you apply that policy evenhandedly, you don’t have to worry that it violates the ADA’s requirement that you provide reasonable accommodations …

No light-Duty jobs open when employee returns? You don’t have to retain him

04/07/2008

Sometimes, injured employees use up all the leave their employer or the law allows before they’re ready to return to work. If the employee isn’t disabled as defined by the ADA, you can remove the employee from the payroll. (He may still be eligible for workers’ compensation payments.) …

Good health incentives in the workplace

04/01/2008

Q. Our staff is wondering why we haven’t implemented a wellness program at work to motivate people to learn and practice good health habits. Are there any restrictions on this? …

ADA