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 the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, many employers received more religious accommodation requests than ever before, with employees citing religious beliefs in support of requests to be excused from mandatory vaccination requirements. Once such requirements ended, religious accommodation issues largely faded into the background for most employers, and accommodation requests under the
If you have a grooming policy based on safety factors (like no beards for firefighters), does that trump an employee’s request for a religious accommodation? Maybe not. A recent Third Circuit decision, Smith v. City of Atlantic City, et al., addressed this issue and partially reversed a district court’s grant of summary judgment in
As everyone in Human Resources knows by now, the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) requires employers to reasonably accommodate employees because of pregnancy and conditions related to pregnancy. In case you missed it, we blogged about this here. The EEOC has filed lawsuits to enforce employee rights under the PWFA and has settled cases
President Donald Trump’s “Return to In-Person Work” executive order (EO) mandates that federal employees return to full-time office work. This EO effectively ended the widespread hybrid and remote work arrangements that had become common in the government sector. Federal agencies must now “take all necessary steps” to enforce in-person attendance. While the EO
In recent weeks, the EEOC has filed a number of lawsuits on behalf of individuals, alleging a range of employment claims. Here, we provide a brief overview of those lawsuits and the issues that may be on the EEOC’s mind.
As you likely know, a current or former employee bringing certain claims against
With the passage of the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA), the law on how you accommodate pregnant workers changed last June, and we blogged about it. Then the EEOC issued extensive regulations last August, and we blogged about that. In every state but Louisiana and Mississippi, those regulations went into full effect on June 18
What accommodations are reasonable under the ADA? Employers are required to provide modifications or adjustments that enable a job applicant to be considered for a position. Beyond the application process, employers must also make modifications to the work environment so that a disabled individual can perform the essential functions of the position. In some cases
It has been a long road to this point, but the final Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) regulations are here. We first blogged in early 2023 about the PWFA, which became effective in June 2023, and again last August when the EEOC published the lengthy draft regulations, and we encouraged you to comment. The
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires covered employers to provide reasonable accommodations for employees with disabilities. To help determine effective accommodations, employers should use an “interactive process,” which simply means that employers and employees with disabilities who request accommodations work together to brainstorm accommodations. While it’s not a per se requirement, the law favors