The EEOC issued on March 19, 2020 an FAQ entitled What You Should Know About the ADA, the Rehabilitation Act, and COVID-19 that contains important guidance for employers adjusting to the new reality presented by the COVID-19 pandemic. While the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Rehabilitation Act continue to apply, they do not […]
Disability & Leave
No Foul for Termination Over Failed Breath Alcohol Test
Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), employers can require employees to not be under the influence of alcohol at the workplace. The ADA also allows employers to hold alcoholic employees to the same standards as other employees, even if their behavior is a result of their alcoholism. In Kitchen v. BASF, No. 18-41119 (5th […]
Erotic Films Challenged Under the ADA
The Americans with Disabilities Act prohibits employment discrimination, but it also requires public accommodations, such as wheelchair ramps and Braille lettering. Places of public accommodation must be accessible to persons with disabilities. Over the years, the courts have had to deal with whether websites are “places” of public accommodation. Several federal appeals courts have taken […]
The Inability To Work For A Particular Supervisor Is NOT A Disability Under The ADAAA
By Randi Klein Hyatt on February 28, 2020 in Disability & Leave, Reasonable Accommodations/Undue Burden
The Second Circuit Court of Appeals reconfirmed the well-established principle under the Americans with Disabilities Act that an employee must be unable to work in a broad class or range of jobs in order to be disabled within the meaning of the Americans with Disabilities Amendments Act of 2008 (ADAAA). In particular, in Woolf v. […]
Maryland Legislature Considering New Payroll Tax To Fund Family and Medical Leave
We wrote earlier this week about some of the bills working their way through the legislative process in Annapolis. An item worthy of its own post is legislation that would create a Family and Medical Leave Insurance Program to provide wage replacement for employees taking leave from work: to care for a child during the […]
It’s Baaack! The FMLA Notice Conundrum Returns to the Seventh Circuit
When I speak or provide training on the FMLA, I often start by apologizing on behalf of Congress and the Department of Labor. Congress, for creating a law the way you design a horse by committee (it comes out looking like a camel); the DOL for implementing regulations that you need legal expertise to follow […]
Employer Not Required to Accommodate Diabetic Employee Who Sleeps on the Job
It goes without saying that employees in any industry are generally expected to remain conscious while at work. But what happens when an employee falls asleep on the job claiming that a disability is to blame? The Fifth Circuit in Clark v. Champion National Security, No. 18-11613 (5th Cir. 1/14/20), examined this issue, holding that […]
Seventh Circuit Recognizes Claim for Hostile Work Environment Based on Disability
Earlier this month, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals joined several other federal courts of appeal by explicitly holding that a claim for hostile work environment based on disability is cognizable under the ADA. Ford v. Marion County Sheriff’s Office, et al., No. 18-3217 (7th Cir. 11/15/19). Ford worked as a deputy for the Marion […]
Temporary GI Issues Not a Disability Under California Law
Is an employee’s temporary gastrointestinal distress as a result of his failure to take prescribed medication properly a covered disability? Not under California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), according to a recent decision out of California State court. Smith v. Space Exploration Technologies Corp., No. B289189 (Cal. App. 2d 11/1/19). Smith worked for Space […]
Federal Appeals Court: Cancer and FMLA Leave No Excuse for Being a Bad Supervisor
The Sixth Circuit, headquartered in Cincinnati, has affirmed a decision that the termination of an employee with cancer following his return from FMLA leave was not a pretext for discrimination. Williams v. Graphic Packaging International, Inc. The employee in question, an upper level supervisor, was apparently mismanaging and intimidating his employees, which only came to […]
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