Wheeliz: 'Uber For Disabled People'
RTT News
A French startup has launched a car-sharing service for people with disabilities, an area that has so far been left relatively untouched by Uber.
Wheeliz describes itself a "peer to peer adapted car rental" and says it provides the largest fleet of wheelchair accessible vehicles. The French company aims to connect people with disabilities to owners of adapted cars.
ADA: 8th Circuit Court approves job-related strength test
HR.BLR.com
The U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals—which covers Arkansas, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota—recently confirmed that an employer's use of job-related strength tests does not constitute improper discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) or the Minnesota Human Rights Act (MHRA).
Disabilities: Maryland court clarifies law on alternate position as accommodation
HR.BLR.com
In an opinion issued July 30, Maryland's Court of Special Appeals reversed a trial court decision in favor of an employer that had terminated an employee who was unable to resume her duties following the expiration of her Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) leave.
In reaching its decision, the court offered an important clarification regarding an employer's duty under Maryland's antidiscrimination statute to offer an available vacant position to an employee who can no longer perform her current job as the result of a disability. Let's take a closer look at this interesting decision.
Tough Stuff: Strategies for Addressing Addiction in the Workplace
Business.com
An employee who goes from being reliable, punctual and a star performer to exhibiting erratic behavior, under-performance, chronic tardiness and unexplained absences may be struggling with substance abuse.
If job performance has declined due to substance abuse, employers have the right to fire their employees. However, many employers wish to help their employees constructively address addiction and support their entrance into a treatment program.
“Increasingly, employers understand that substance abuse is a biological illness, not a moral failing,” said Rogan Holmes at Beachway Therapy Center, which works closely with employers to coordinate employee substance abuse treatment. “As a supervisor, you are in a unique position to provide help and follow-up care.”
Addressing addiction in the workplace is never easy. It can be a huge shock to realize that a trusted employee is abusing drugs or alcohol. However, with intervention and treatment, sobriety is possible.
Right to shop after hours demanded as ADA accommodation
Overlawyered
A plaintiff whose PTSD symptoms include extreme agoraphobia argues that Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and other laws require a local drugstore to let him shop after hours by way of according a quieter, less stressful experience. He has thus far enjoyed some success with his federal claim. [Callum v. CVS Health, U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina]
Access disability threat still hangs over small business
Stockton Record
Small businesses in San Joaquin County and the rest of California remain vulnerable to thousands of dollars in penalty and legal fees for violating disability access rules since Gov. Brown’s recent veto of an Americans with Disabilities Act reform bill.
Pay transparency: What are a contractor's defenses
Compensation.BLR.com
So, what is an essential job function? According to the final rule, information is obtained as a part of an employee’s essential job functions if:
- Access to compensation information is necessary to perform that function or another routinely assigned business task, or
- The function or duties of the position include protecting and maintaining the privacy of employee personnel records, including compensation information.
- Essential job functions distinguished. Now, the term “essential job functions” sounds familiar, right? In human resources we talk a lot about essential job functions and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
But, the final rule’s definition of “essential job functions” is different from the ADA in that it emphasizes access to and the use of compensation data, while the ADA focuses on the general duties and uniqueness of a position.
With the essential job function defense, the people the rule most likely envisioned to fall within the defense are your compensation managers, benefits professionals, and HR managers who have access to the sensitive compensation information of others within an organization.