Disability & Leave Archives - Page 5 of 15

Fitness for Duty Exams Scrutinized by Federal Court in Illinois

Frank Kollman

10/04/2019

Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, an employer may require medical examinations or make inquiries of employees about disabilities as long as the such examinations or inquiries are job related and consistent with business necessity. The employer bears the burden of proof of business necessity and job relatedness. Frequently, issues arise when employees develop medical conditions or behaviors that could affect performance and safety, and...

Vincent Jackson

08/21/2019

Disability & Leave, Drug Testing, Employment Discrimination

A federal district judge in Oregon ruled that a Boeing employee who was terminated from his employment for tampering with his drug test could not advance his claims for disability discrimination and retaliation past summary judgment. The case, Kelly v. The Boeing Company (D. Or. Aug. 15, 2019), reaffirms the general principle that an employer is not liable for discrimination where it holds a good faith belief of a lawful basis for its termination,...

Kollman & Saucier

08/07/2019

Disability & Leave, Employment Discrimination, Pretext

Anti-discrimination laws often protect both individuals with actual disabilities and those whose employer perceives (regards) as disabled. Whether an employer perceives an employee as disabled, however, can be a complicated matter, as a case decided last week by the District of Columbia Court of Appeals illustrates. Abdul-Azim v. Howard University Hospital, No. 17-CV-453 (D.C. Ct. App. 8/1/19). Abdul-Azim worked as a cardiology...

Kollman & Saucier

06/19/2019

Disability & Leave, Fitness For Duty Evaluations, obesity

In general, federal appellate courts addressing obesity claims under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) have held that absent an underlying physiological disorder, obesity is not a disability. However, EEOC guidance suggests, and some lower courts have concluded, that morbid obesity alone is an impairment under the ADA. In a recent case, Richardson v. Chicago Transit Authority, Nos. 17-3508 and 18-2199 (7th Cir. 6/12/19), the Seventh Circuit...

Kollman & Saucier

02/01/2019

Disability & Leave

The essential functions of a job are those duties that an employee must be able to perform, with or without reasonable accommodation. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) advises that employers should consider the following factors to determine whether a function is essential: whether the position exists to perform the function; the number of other employees available to perform the function or among whom the performance of the...

Kollman & Saucier

12/26/2018

Disability & Leave, Employment Discrimination, State Law

Nearly two weeks ago, in a post on associational discrimination claims, I pointed out that while these claims may be relatively uncommon, they are still possible under the ADA and Maryland law. By contrast, last week, a Kentucky state court held that the Kentucky Civil Rights Act (KCRA) does not encompass associational discrimination claims. The case is Barnett v. Central Kentucky Hauling, LLC, No. 2017-CA-001746-MR (Ky. Ct. App. Dec. 21,...

Kollman & Saucier

12/14/2018

Disability & Leave

Unlike cases of discrimination based on an employee’s own protected status, there seem to be far fewer claims of discrimination based on an employee’s relationship with a protected individual. But this did not stop a former county courthouse employee from filing a lawsuit last December claiming that her termination from the Marion Superior Court in Indianapolis violated the association provision of the ADA. Amber Bridges v. City of...

Kollman & Saucier

10/12/2018

Disability & Leave, Reasonable Accommodations/Undue Burden

A Mercedes Benz dealership in Seattle violated the Americans With Disabilities Amendments Act of 2008 (ADAAA) and Washington state disability law when it denied its finance director the chance to return to work after his surgery for vocal chord cancer. The federal jury awarded the employee nearly $5 million. Troy Coachman worked for Seattle Auto Management, Inc. as a finance director. His lawsuit alleges he was a top producer, generating...

Kollman & Saucier

09/23/2018

Disability & Leave

Handling employee requests to telework can be tricky, especially when the request is accompanied by a doctor’s note recommending the employee work at home all or most of the time. But just providing a doctor’s note does not entitle an employee to work at home. An employer needs enough information to understand whether teleworking is a reasonable accommodation, and this means both the employer and employee must engage in the interactive...

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Fitness for Duty Exams Scrutinized by Federal Court in Illinois

Employee Believed To Have Tampered With Drug Test Cannot Prove Disability Discrimination

D.C. Court of Appeals Finds That Perceived-Disability Discrimination Claim May Succeed

Seventh Circuit Weighs In On Obesity Disability Debate

Know The Essential Functions of the Jobs In Your Workplace

Kentucky Court Holds That State Law Does Not Permit Associational Discrimination Claims

Associational Discrimination Claims: Are They Viable?

Jury Decides That Mercedes Benz Did Not Deliver The Best To A Former Employee With Cancer

Understanding Telework as a Reasonable Accommodation

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Category: Disability & Leave

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