Category: Disability & Leave

Employees sometimes assert that they suffer from stress or anxiety because they cannot work with a particular supervisor or coworker or at a particular busy or stressful location.  These claims are usually unsuccessful, but they may fare better when a large employer has the option or flexibility to transfer an unhappy employee. In one recent case, a court ruled that an employee who was denied a transfer from a particular location that caused him...

Employers sometimes need to be reminded that a reasonable accommodation can be an easy thing.  Refusing to make one without first engaging in the “interactive process” can result in prolonged litigation. After all, everyone is entitled to their decade in court. Today’s story involves a former VA employee who the Eleventh Circuit decided will be able to have a jury decide if she was illegally denied permission to park in the VA lot for...

While courts have said repeatedly about the ADA that an employee need not use magic words or even the phrase “reasonable accommodation” when making such a request, the case of Powley v. Rail Crew Xpress, LLC, No. 21-1131 (8th Cir. Feb. 15, 2022), is a good reminder that the ADA does require employees to provide sufficient information to an employer that a health issue could be a disability interfering with the ability to work and necessitating a...

A major component of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is the interactive process.  The law requires employers and employees to actively engage in this dialogue when exploring reasonable accommodations.  But there is no requirement that an employer agree to an employee’s preferred accommodation if there is another accommodation that is less expensive or easier to provide that will have the same effect.   As long as an...

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is clear:  it is crucial for employers to timely and thoroughly explore avenues of reasonable accommodation (that do not create an undue hardship) for employees with disabilities.  This is not a one and done thing; an employer needs to be fully engaged in the interactive process and keep a good record of what it has done to meet its obligations.  The failure to do so may result in an employee getting...