For those of you who think the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) means you have to do whatever a disabled employee wants, I bring good news from of all sources, a jury in California. This case had it all—an employee injured on the job, extended leave and, finally, the company’s decision to go ahead and
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is 25 years old this year. I was a newly minted lawyer when this law emerged in 1990 and as I have grown, so have the number of disability discrimination lawsuits. In celebration of the ADA’s birthday, I thought we could celebrate with a quick review of an employer’s
The EEOC has filed a lawsuit (EEOC v. ValleyLife, Civil Action No. 2:15-cv-00340-GMS) under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) against ValleyLife, a disability support services company in Arizona, claiming that ValleyLife has failed to reasonably accommodate its employees with disabilities. According to the complaint, ValleyLife had a policy under which an employee
If a commercial driver is diagnosed with chronic alcoholism, can his employer terminate him a week later because his diagnosis excludes him from performing the essential functions of his job? In Jarvela v. Crete Carrier Corp., the Eleventh Circuit said yes. Crete Carrier terminated Jarvela because of his week-old diagnosis, determining that he was
The EEOC recently announced that it is suing FedEx Ground Package System for allegedly violating the Americans With Disabilities Act in their dealings with deaf and hearing-impaired workers nationwide. The suit claims that FedEx Ground failed to provide American Sign Language interpretation and closed-caption training videos during a mandatory initial tour of facilities and new-hire