Must I Really Consider All Accommodations?
Connecticut Law Tribune
Employers are required to engage in interactive process under the ADA
ADA Violations in New Rochelle Schools - Part V: Ward School
Talk of the Sound
This article is Part V in an Investigative Series by Talk of the Sound into apparent violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act at New Rochelle schools. The investigation covers exterior issues only.
4 myths about hiring employees with disabilities
South Florida Business Journal
Many people associate the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) with matters of physical access: Are restrooms large enough to accommodate wheelchairs? Are ramps available to circumvent the stairs?
But the ADA's significance extends beyond workplace layout. The legislation ensures that people with disabilities do not suffer employment discrimination and that a disability cannot be the basis of job denial if reasonable accommodations can be made.
The possibilities for accommodations depend on the basic functions of the job, though common ones include flexible work hours or telecommuting options, ergonomic changes, lighting adjustments or making equipment more easily accessible.
Capitol due for $400000 in accessibility upgrades to meet ADA requirements
The Spokesman Review (blog)
Idaho’s state Capitol is due for $400,000 in accessibility upgrades, to bring the renovated historic structure in line with requirements of the Americans With Disabilities Act. They range from new wheelchair accessible seating areas in the public galleries of the House and Senate, to improved ramps and handrails, to new signs.
A complaint two years ago led the U.S. Department of Justice to look into accessibility in Idaho’s Statehouse. “There were 110 areas they wanted us to look at,” said Senate President Pro-Tem Brent Hill, R-Rexburg. “Some were major, and some were minor.” He said, “We hope by the end of the year to have a signed agreement that we’re in compliance, or have a plan in place to be in compliance.”
Questionable whether “best practices” plan motivated elimination of employee’s duties upon return from leave
Finding that, in retrospect, the “totality of the circumstances” placed in doubt a hospital’s assertion that due to its “best practices” restructuring plan, it eliminated the majority of an employee’s job duties when she returned from FMLA leave and eventually terminated her, a federal district court in Kentucky granted the employee’s motion to alter its judgment and denied the hospital’s motion for summary judgment on her FMLA reprisal claim. Amongst other things, her job duties were reduced immediately upon her return; the “best practice” plan on which the hospital claimed it relied had been in effect for several months before her leave; she had never been made aware of it until her discharge; her job performance was not unsatisfactory; and one of the coworkers who took over her job did not apply for it or meet its apparent qualifications (Harman v Western Baptist Hospital, WDKy, October 22, 2014, Russell, T).
DOL launches new web portal on accessible workplace technology
The U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) has launched PEATworks.org — a comprehensive web portal spearheaded by ODEP's Partnership on Employment & Accessible Technology. From educational articles to interactive tools, the website's content will help employers and the technology industry adopt accessible technology as part of everyday business practice so that all workers can benefit.