Remember when half the workforce went home in 2020 and, somehow, the work still got done? Employees remember, too, and many have used that history as ammunition today when employers ask them to return to the office. If an employee teleworked successfully for two years during COVID-19, the argument goes, doesn’t that prove they can
The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals recently held that an employee could establish a failure to accommodate claim under the Americans with Disabilities Act, where the employee requested to be moved to other positions but instead the employer placed him on unpaid leave. This case serves as an important reminder that, while leave can be
In, Stanley v. City of Sanford, Florida, the U.S. Supreme Court clarified the scope of the Americans with Disabilities Act, holding that Title I’s employment discrimination provisions do not apply to individuals who are retired and no longer hold or seek employment. The decision, a 7-2 majority written by Justice Neil Gorsuch, gives employers
Earlier this month, in Strife v. Aldine Independent School District, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals held that an employer’s delayed accommodation of an employee’s disability could amount to a failure to accommodate under the Americans with Disabilities Act. This case serves as an important reminder not only to take all requests for disability
Wait — why is my favorite employment law blog detouring into the world of website accessibility? If your business has a website, keep reading.
If you read our blog regularly, you probably recall a few posts about website accessibility lawsuits and where the courts stand on whether a website is a “place of public accommodation.”
Does it seem like you are dealing with more mental health issues in your workforce? If so, you are not alone. Recent mental health claim statistics show an alarming increase in chronic illnesses since the pandemic. For adults between the ages of 35 and 44, mental illness diagnoses have increased from 48% in 2019 to
If an individual’s disability causes involuntary racist or profane utterances, what would a reasonable accommodation under the ADA look like? In Cooper v. Dolgencorp, LLC, the Sixth Circuit faced just such an inquiry.
The ADA protects a qualified individual with a disability who can perform the essential functions of his or her
Does the fact that an individual is disabled automatically make him a “qualified individual with a disability” under Title I of the ADA? In Stanley v. City of Sanford, Florida, the Eleventh Circuit said no.
Karyn Stanley started as a firefighter with the City of Sanford, Florida in 1999. In 2016
Employers sometimes face difficult decisions after learning of an employee’s disability. What if you learn of a disability after ongoing repeated employment deficiencies or even after a disciplinary or discharge decision already has been made? Do you stay on course for the discharge? Add more time (give them another chance)? Reverse course completely? As with
Most of us know that when an employee or visitor to a place of public accommodation requests a reasonable accommodation, the ADA requires an interactive process to make an individualized determination. But what about a request from a nursing intern to bring her service dog… to a hospital… around patients? Could this qualify as a