EEOC Sues FedEx Ground Package System, Inc., for Nationwide Disability Discrimination
Shipping giant FedEx Ground Package System, Inc., (FedEx Ground) violated federal law nationwide by discriminating against a large class of deaf and hard-of-hearing package handlers and job applicants for years, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit it announced today.
The EEOC says that FedEx Ground failed to provide needed accommodations such as American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation and closed-captioned training videos during the mandatory initial tour of the facilities and new-hire orientation for deaf and hard-of-hearing applicants. The shipping company also failed to provide such accommodations during staff, performance, and safety meetings. Package handlers physically load and unload packages from delivery vehicles, place and reposition packages in FedEx Ground's conveyor systems, and scan, sort and route packages.
1. EEOC Sues The Lash Group for Disability Discrimination
JD Supra
The Lash Group, a Charlotte, N.C.-based consulting company, refused to provide a reasonable accommodation to an employee with post-partum depression and instead fired her because of her disability in violation of federal law, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit.
1. ACLU Demands Justice for Stylist Fired by Hair Cuttery Over HIV status
American Civil Liberties Union News and Information
Troubled that a stylist who worked his way up from receptionist to assistant manager of a hair salon in Greenbelt was fired because of his HIV status while he was still struggling to come to terms with his diagnosis, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Maryland today filed a formal Charge of Discrimination on the man’s behalf with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) against the Hair Cuttery and its multimillion-dollar parent company. The ACLU also sent a letter to the Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing & Regulation requesting a clarification that state regulations may not be invoked to justify unlawful discrimination.
1. ADA accommodation: 10 ways to get the interactive process right
HR.BLR.com
Utilizing the interactive process to determine ADA accommodation needs can be tricky. Once you’re started in the process, how do you know you’re doing it right? How do you know you’re meeting your ADA accommodation requirements?
1. Ebola in the workplace—what employers should know
HR.BLR.com
With cases of Ebola happening in the United States and leading the news, employers may be wondering what they can do to prevent the disease in their workplaces. The federal government and some states are issuing guidance to help reduce the chances of transmission of infectious diseases, such as Ebola, from affecting their workers.
1. Deciphering Accommodation Requests under the ADA Not Clear Cut
JD Supra
Employers often take appropriate measures to ensure compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). However, ADA compliance efforts may be useless in situations where an accommodation request or disability is not readily apparent. For this reason it is crucial that human resources professionals are able to recognize and effectively address accommodation requests.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and court rulings have repeatedly confirmed that employers are only required to accommodate a "known" disability of a qualified applicant or employee, a requirement that generally is triggered by a request for accommodation. Therefore, employers are not required to intuitively know — nor should they assume — an employee has a disability and/or requires accommodation under the ADA.
At the same time, the law does not require that the ADA be specifically mentioned by those requesting an accommodation. Current EEOC guidance states that individuals seeking accommodation may use "plain English" and must indicate that a medical condition requires some sort of adjustment or change in employment. Furthermore, the words "reasonable accommodation" are not specifically needed, nor does the ADA require such requests be in writing.
As a result, ADA compliance is not as straightforward as it may seem. In fact, an employer may be legally obligated to explore accommodation options even in circumstances where no accommodation request is made. For example, an employer may be obligated under the ADA despite the lack of an outright request if -
An individual requests leave for medical reasons, but does not realize his or her disability is covered by the ADA;
A person's short-term condition substantially limits his or her life activities, thus making the condition a disability under the ADA Amendments Act;
An employee requires leave beyond that offered by the Family and Medical Leave Act and the disabling condition is covered by the ADA; or
A medical reason is given as the reason for a change in an employee's work quality — although, an employer is not required to assume they are related if the employee does not link the performance problem to his or her medical condition.
It is vital that employers and human resource professionals are aware of the various ways an ADA accommodation request — and thus the employer's duty to investigate accommodations — can be triggered. Thomson Reuters' online ADA Training course helps those responsible for ADA compliance understand the law and recognize issues when they arise.
Disabilities: New Jersey employer's defense of wrongful termination sunk by diverticulitis
HR.BLR.com
Be careful when rendering employment decisions without first trying to learn as much as possible about the situation and giving careful consideration to accommodation requests.
1. Employers Can Decline Qualifying Leave Under the FMLA
Corporate Counsel
1. Congress enacted the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) to allow employees to take necessary leave from their jobs for their own or a family member's serious health condition. Congress's intent was to help employees to "balance the demands of the workplace with the needs of families, to promote the stability and economic security of families, and to promote national interest in preserving family integrity … in a manner that accommodates the legitimate interests of employers." 29 U.S.C. § 2601.
Despite Economic Milestones, Employment Gap Remains For People With Disabilities
With the overall unemployment rate dropping below 6 percent for the first time since the Great Recession, the participation of people with disabilities continues to slip, according to today's National Trends in Disability Employment – Monthly Update (nTIDE), issued by Kessler Foundation and University of New Hampshire’s Institute on Disability (UNH-IOD). Disability job training and employment initiatives support efforts to find work.
Museum under fire after blind woman's treatment
WTSP 10 News
A protest is scheduled for Friday afternoon to highlight an incident where a legally blind woman said she and her guide dog were harassed by contracted security guards at the Museum of Florida History.
Tiffany Baylor said when she visited an exhibit at the museum Oct. 1 security guards, U.S. Security Associates employees contracted with Department of Management Services, told her she could not have her guide dog in the museum.
2. Accessibility On Campus Still A Concern For Some Students
The Heights
For most students, a small wheelchair symbol embossed on a pole with the words “Lyons Hall” and a left-facing arrow will quickly blend into the rest of the Quad. The fact that the construction space next to St. Mary’s Hall seems to fill with the same stone planters flanking O’Neill Plaza will hardly register. These are easy oversights for some, but critical pieces of information for others—they give students with disabilities the information necessary to access Student Services, or make them wonder if they’ll have to traverse the full perimeter of the plaza in order to gain access to St. Mary’s once it reopens.