Updated Technical Assistance Publication: ADA Checklist for Polling Places | PDF
Settlement Agreement: The National Epicurean Academy of Culinary Arts
Austin's Park N Pizza to Pay $20,000 to Settle EEOC Disability Discrimination Suit
Amusement Park and Restaurant Fired Employee with Intellectual Disability Rather than Allowing Assistance with Clock-in Procedure, Federal Agency Charged.
Qualification Is Key Under The ADA
Mondaq News Alerts
Since the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was amended a few years ago to expand on what is considered a "disability," almost any medical condition of any consequence may now be enough for an employee to be considered "disabled." While many past ADA claims were defended by arguing that the employee was not truly disabled, that defense is practically gone now (unless the employee really has no cognizable medical condition).
The key question today in many ADA cases is whether the employee is a "qualified individual with a disability." A "qualified individual" is someone with an actual disability who, with or without reasonable accommodation, can perform the essential functions of the job. It is an employee who can carry out the fundamental duties of the position that the person is actually required to perform. Those essential functions may be about doing the job correctly, safely, as required by rules, policy or law, and within an employer's expectations. If the employee can do those tasks — either without assistance or through an employer providing a reasonable accommodation — then the employee cannot be discharged or prevented from doing the job due to his or her disability.
Many times cases turn on whether a job duty is essential. Courts consider whether a job function is "essential" on a case-by-case basis, considering factors such as any job description, the employee's actual experience (and that of similarly situated co-workers) in the position, and the practical realities of the job based on testimony by employees and supervisors. Thankfully, courts have recognized that the employer's judgment and discretion is key; what the employer defines as important and essential matters a whole lot in making that determination. However, the employer's judgment does not go unchecked. Courts will consider the real experience of the employee (and others) in the job, so just because an employer says a job duty is essential does not make it so. If the employee never had to carry out that duty, or it is not really what the employee was hired to do, whether that duty is essential may end up being a question for a jury to decide.
Consider a recent case decided by the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals (which covers Georgia, Florida and Alabama). In Jordan v. City of Union City, GA, a police department removed a police officer after he experienced heightened anxiety during work and was found to have a group of anxiety-related medical disorders. The Court had little trouble recognizing that a police officer's essential functions include "exercising sound judgment in emergency and stressful situations." In light of the officer's testimony that he could not completely prevent or control his anxiety so that it would not occur at work, the Court ruled he was not able to carry out that (and other) essential job duties, and that no reasonable accommodation existed. Therefore, even though the employee was fully capable of performing the duties of his position most of the time, even an infrequent inability to perform the essential functions of his position meant he was not a "qualified individual" under the ADA. So, his removal from the job was lawful.
This decision makes perfect sense, especially in the context of a police officer. In most jobs, however, the essentiality of job duties are not quite as obvious. Job descriptions that are written, clear, accurate — by truly reflecting what the employee does and has to do to perform the job — and regularly updated are important. Ultimately, an employer that is unable to accommodate a disabled employee and wants to remove him from (or not hire him for) a job must be able to show that he cannot perform job duties that are truly essential. Anything less than crystal clear proof may leave the question of whether the employee is a "qualified individual" up in the air, and subject to protracted (and expensive) litigation.
Bentonville McDonald's Accused of Firing Employee with HIV, EEOC Files Lawsuit.
KNWA
According to a release, the EEOC's law suit says the companies violated the Americans with Disabilities Act when they fired the employee within days of learning his HIV status. The suit also accuses the companies maintain a policy of requiring all employees to report the use of prescription medication, a violation of the ADA.
"The ADA mandates that persons with disabilities have an equal opportunity to achieve success in the workplace," District Director of EEOC's Memphis Office Katharin W. Kores said. "People with HIV face enough obstacles in their lives. The ability to work in an environment free of discrimination should not be one of them."
The law suit seeks monetary relief which includes back pay for punitive damages, compensation for lost benefits and the removal of the prescription medication policy.
Johnson Bill Attacks Part Of ADA
WHBL Sheboygan
U.S. Senator Ron Johnson thinks parts of the Americans with Disabilities Act shouldn't apply to private voucher schools.
Lexology
In Part I of this series, we discussed the uncertainty concerning whether the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) applies to websites of private businesses, and, if so, the specific requirements that would apply to websites. Additionally, we discussed that even if under no legal obligation to do so, businesses need to be aware of the current status of the law concerning web accessibility. Below, we address why businesses should consider the adoption of a formal web accessibility policy and present the top 10 most important considerations affecting the components of a web accessibility policy.
1. Don’t Reinvent the Wheel.
2. Follow Your Policy.
3. Establish Deadlines But Be Realistic.
4. Third Party Contracting.
5. General Exclusions.
6. Specific Exclusions.
7. Prioritize Important Content.
8. Modifying Existing Websites.
9. All New Websites Should be Compliant
10. The Basics.
Texas accused of ignoring mentally disabled in nursing homes
Fox News
The intellectually-disabled Texas native moved to a group home in Lubbock in September after he had first lived in near slavery conditions for more than three decades in a squalid house in Iowa and worked at a turkey processing plant there for 41 cents an hour. After being freed by social workers from that situation, he was sent in 2008 to a nursing home in Midland, Texas.
His plight is not uncommon in Texas, where people with such disabilities are routinely warehoused in nursing homes, according to a lawsuit brought by Barefield and other disabled people. Advocates for the intellectually-disabled — a condition affecting reasoning and learning — say Texas is violating the Americans with Disabilities Act and other federal laws by denying services that could allow more than 4,000 people to live in the community.
The state denies it is exploiting the disabled, saying it is committed to providing them with the highest quality of services.
State agrees to changes for disabled at state prisons
Montgomery Advertiser
Alabama will make changes at aging state prisons to accommodate inmates with disabilities and settle some of the claims in a broader lawsuit over prison medical care.
The settlement, which was given preliminary approval by a federal judge in June, calls for the state to make improvements at some prisons and make sure disabled inmates access to work and educational programs. The state will first conduct a survey of inmates and prison facilities to determine which inmates have disabilities and what barriers exist for them at prison facilities.
Parent Herald
Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is under fire after its officers allegedly assaulted a disabled female teen at Memphis International Airport. The parents' victim has since filed a lawsuit against the agents for the physical injuries their disabled daughter suffered from the TSA officers.