Aug 13 2019

Disability  

New resources available for workplace disability accommodation

The US Department of Labor’s Job Accommodation Network (JAN) has released a comprehensive Workplace Accommodation Toolkit which provides employers with resources and tools needed to create a more disability-inclusive and compliant workplace. The toolkit contains practical solutions for workplace accommodations, coaching on the interactive process, and training on the basic obligations of…

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Jul 01 2019

DisabilityHarassment & DiscriminationSafety and Health  

Employers need objective basis to require fitness-for-duty exam

A federal district court recently ruled that a police department complied with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) when it required a bomb squad technician to undergo a fitness-for-duty exam. Their justification? The city had an objective basis for the fitness-for-duty exam request. In this case, the technician was experiencing hand…

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Jan 18 2019

Disability  

EEOC rescinds rules on wellness incentive limits for now

Effective January 1, 2019, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has officially rescinded its regulations that allowed employers to offer wellness incentives of up to 30 percent of the cost of employee-only health coverage. As we previously reported a year ago, a federal district court determined that the EEOC didn’t have…

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Jan 02 2019

DisabilityEmployee BenefitsEmployee Classifications  

Best practice idea: Follow up after making disability accommodation

One of our Vigilant members has implemented a best practice that we think is worth sharing: annual check-ins with employees who are receiving workplace accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Annual Check-In: What’s Involved The company sends the employee a letter each year, reviewing what accommodations have been made and asking: (1)…

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Aug 22 2018

Q&ADisabilityDrug and AlcoholHiringTermination & Resignation  

Q&A: Use MRO to verify whether prescription caused positive drug test

Question: We require all new hires to pass a pre-employment drug test. Do we have to use the same process we use for our random, reasonable suspicion, and post-accident drug testing and send positive test results to a medical review officer (MRO)? Or, can we simply ask potential new hires for a list of medications they have been prescribed?

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Aug 17 2018

Q&ADisabilityLeave LawsSafety and Health  

Q&A: No FMLA notice required unless employee asks for time off

Question: I have a production employee who says that standing for eight hours a day is causing him pain. He doesn’t want to go on any type of leave and says he’d rather just suffer through it. We are covered by the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). What do I do?
 

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Aug 06 2018

Q&ADisabilityHarassment & DiscriminationSafety and Health  

Q&A: “100-percent healed” return-to-work policy violates ADA

Question: To avoid workplace injuries, we require all employees to be 100-percent healed without any medical restrictions before they return to work after an illness or injury. We think this is an important policy to protect employee safety, but recently heard it might be unlawful discrimination. Is it?

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Jul 06 2018

Q&ADisability  

Q&A: Rotating shifts may be essential job function

Question: We have approximately 10 employees in one department performing the same job, with 6 working rotating shifts and the other 4 working only on the day shift. One of the employees assigned to the rotating shift brought in a doctor’s note saying he can only work on the day shift due to a medical condition. Do we have to grant his request?

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Jan 10 2018

DisabilityTermination & Resignation  

ADA accommodation may require showing rather than telling

ADA accommodation may require showing rather than telling An employee in Illinois will move forward to a jury trial on her disability discrimination claim alleging that her employer failed to provide a reasonable accommodation for her learning disability. Although supervisors told her how to complete her timesheets, the employee claims that…

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Nov 21 2017

Q&ADisabilitySafety and HealthTermination & Resignation  

Q&A: Accommodate for Questionable Religious Belief?

Question: We recently instituted a no-beard policy to ensure that men can securely wear their required safety masks. However, one of our Muslim employees refused, citing the Prophet Muhammad. I’ve studied the Quran, and I know that it doesn’t require beards. Can we discipline or fire him for not shaving?

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