South Dakota employer finds itself in ADA nightmare
HR.BLR.com
An alcoholic employee disclosed his dependency issues to his employer. After completing treatment, the employee was terminated. Add suspected associational discrimination to the mix, and the employer finds itself in hot water over alleged Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) violations.
Sara Boyns, Workplace Law: Medical marijuana in the workplace
Monterey County Herald
What do I do if my employee comes to work under the influence of marijuana? What if the employee has a prescription? Can I discharge the employee or do I have to allow the employee to come to work under the influence?
Social Security Administration (SSA) Violates Court Order Concerning Obligation to Provide Reasonable Accommodations to Severely Mentally Disabled Beneficiary
By April Banerjee, Program Manager for Public Awareness and Education
In 2012, People With Disabilities Foundation (PWDF) reached an unprecedented settlement with the Social Security Administration (SSA) regarding discrimination against two mentally and/or developmentally disabled Social Security beneficiaries. In this settlement, the SSA agreed to provide these beneficiaries (Terrence Davis and John Doe) with a number of reasonable accommodations based on their disabilities. 1 PWDF remains actively involved in the enforcement stage of this case.
Pursuant to this court order, the SSA is obligated to provide Mr. Davis and Mr. Doe with designated program experts and comply with specified means for these beneficiaries to access the experts. The purpose of having these program experts is to ensure the SSA effectively communicates with these plaintiffs, as required under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. 2 On a practical level, this means that the program experts are to help Mr. Davis and Mr. Doe comply with SSA rules by bridging the gap between the plaintiffs’ functional limitations and the need to respond to SSA’s requirements as specified in their notices.
To enable the designated program experts to meet this obligation, the settlement agreement includes a provision that they shall be available to attend a meeting with the respective beneficiaries’ professional and/or family support network. The objectives of the meetings are to educate and provide training to the program experts about the beneficiaries’ impairments, limitations, and/or symptoms, as well as provide recommendations about techniques that will assist the experts communicate effectively with Mr. Davis and Mr. Doe. 3
Earlier this year, PWDF learned that the SSA had failed to continue to meet its obligations concerning the assigned program experts for Mr. Davis. Mr. Davis reported that while he initially had access to his assigned program experts, he had tried to reach them numerous times for a lengthy period, perhaps as long as two years, but got no response. After learning that Mr. Davis had not had access to a trained, assigned program expert, PWDF contacted the SSA to ensure it assigned new program experts for Mr. Davis, pursuant to its obligations under the settlement agreement. Mr. Doe reported that he had not recently initiated a request to meet with his program expert due to complications from an unrelated hospitalization.
PWDF is following up with the SSA to ensure the new assigned program experts are available and receive training so that the agency is able to provide Mr. Davis with meaningful access to its programs and services, as required by Section 504.
It begins: Arizona restaurants/bars must prepare for tidal wave of ADA lawsuits
Lexology
Arizona is quickly joining the ranks of California, New York and Texas as a hotbed for lawsuits arising under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Last month, I blogged about (and have personally defended numerous hotel owners against) lawsuits filed by Theresa Brooke, a wheelchair bound Arizona woman who has sued more than 150 Arizona hotel owners for failing to provide wheelchair accessible pool lifts. Now, it appears another disabled serial plaintiff has emerged.
Balancing work and cancer: How HR and managers can help
HR.BLR.com
A cancer diagnosis often catches people by surprise. When the person with cancer is one of your employees, knowing how to react is not intuitive. The truth is, when an employee discloses their diagnosis to you, they are looking for direction. Your next steps will be remembered by the cancer survivor, as well as by their colleagues.