07/27/2010
The Pennsylvania Human Rights Act is the commonwealth’s companion to federal employment laws such as the ADA and Title VII. The PHRA goes beyond most federal laws because it authorizes personal liability for those who “aid and abet” an act of discrimination. And as one recent case shows, aiding and abetting can include making a serious mistake about a reasonable accommodation request.
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07/27/2010
Some disabled individuals may fear that prospective employers won’t hire them if they request an accommodation. They may even try to reassure employers they’re perfectly capable of doing the job without any help. Take them at their word. They can’t later claim they didn’t get an accommodation.
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07/27/2010
Before you even consider firing (or refusing to hire) someone because they might jack up your health insurance costs, count your dollars, not your pennies. You may be staring down a lawsuit that could dwarf whatever premium costs you hoped to avoid.
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07/23/2010
When an employee asks for a reasonable ADA accommodation for a disability, you don’t have to accept her first suggestion. You are under no obligation to provide the employee’s preferred accommodation if you have another one that’s also reasonable.
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07/23/2010
Overlapping issues often make it even harder for HR pros to deal with difficult situations. For example, addressing the needs of two disabled employees can turn into a discrimination lawsuit if they belong to different protected classes and you come up with different accommodations.
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07/09/2010
A recent Illinois district court case sheds light on whether HIV is a disability under the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 (ADAAA). In Horgan v. Simmons, the court held that an HIV-positive man who was terminated after disclosing his medical condition to his supervisor could pursue an employment discrimination claim under the ADA. This case reflects the trend toward broader protection under the ADA.
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07/09/2010
Balance Staffing’s short-sighted treatment of a visually impaired recruiter will cost it $100,000 to settle a disability discrimination suit.
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07/08/2010
Under the ADA, medical exams are allowed only if needed to determine whether an employee requires a reasonable accommodation or if the employer believes the employee will be unable to safely perform the job. But can employers require employees to agree to more extensive medical examinations as a condition of employment? Probably not.
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07/07/2010
Employees whose disabilities require reasonable accommodations in the form of breaks or a modified schedule don’t get to save their FMLA leave for later use. You are free to subtract the time off from any FMLA hours available.
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06/28/2010
The North Carolina Persons with Disabilities Act prohibits discrimination against the disabled, but that protection is limited. Consider the following case involving race car driver Jeremy Mayfield:
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06/28/2010
Typically, employees have just a short period of time to file an EEOC discrimination claim. But what if they don’t know they are being discriminated against? In some circumstances, that may give them much more time to begin a lawsuit. All the more reason to be open about employment decisions—it makes it harder for employees to later claim they didn’t understand their situations.
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06/18/2010
The organization Disability Rights Advocates recently filed a class action lawsuit against the state of California on behalf of seven state employees and Deaf and Hard of Hearing State Workers United, a group representing employees with hearing disabilities.
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06/18/2010
Employers aren’t allowed to delve into an employee’s disabilities or medical history when that employee wants to keep the information private—unless the employer can show a job-related reason for doing so. To qualify, the inquiry must be narrowly tailored to assess whether the employee is capable of performing the essential functions of his job. Broad questions often run afoul of the law.
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06/09/2010
Q. We run a pretty laid-back office and are considering allowing employees to bring their pets to work. Anything we should be thinking about?
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06/09/2010
Employers are naturally concerned about employees who hurt themselves at work and collect workers’ compensation benefits. One of those concerns is that an early return, before the employee is ready, may cause a reinjury. That attitude, however, can come back to hurt if you insist on a 100%-healed requirement before the employee can resume work.
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