Humboldt County, CA
Consent Decree | Complaint
The National Law Review
In Beaton v. Metropolitan Transportation Authority New York City Transit, Docket No. 15 CV 08056 (S.D.N.Y. June 15, 2016), the Court denied Defendant’s motion to dismiss Plaintiff’s disability discrimination claims under the ADA and local laws. The case is significant because it addressed an alleged mental disability. By way of background, Plaintiff was employed by Defendant as a station agent in a subway station in New York City for over ten years. Plaintiff alleged, among other things, that Defendant terminated his employment on the basis of his disability (schizophrenia) and the effects of the medication used to treat that condition. Specifically, Plaintiff’s employment was suspended, and thereafter terminated, after Plaintiff’s supervisor discovered him sleeping during work time. Plaintiff alleged that while working he experienced severe schizophrenia symptoms, necessitating a higher dosage of his anti-psychotic prescription medication. The higher dosage caused drowsiness. Plaintiff advised his supervisor of his condition and the related side effect. Plaintiff nevertheless was subjected to disciplinary proceedings, despite corroboration from his physician, and terminated from his employment. In rebuttal, the Transportation Authority argued that Plaintiff could not proceed with his disability discrimination, in part, because: (1) sleeping on the job prevents an employee from performing the essential functions of the job, thus making him not qualified for the position; and (2) Plaintiff did not raise a plausible inference that his employment was terminated because of his disability.
The Court held that Plaintiff was a long-tenured employee, having worked for years without incident. Thus, found the Court, he was qualified for the position under the law. The Court further held that it was plausible that Plaintiff’s employment was terminated because of his disability given that Plaintiff advised his supervisor of his condition, and nonetheless, Defendant terminated his employment. Though employers are permitted to discipline employees for policy violations, despite a disability, compliance with the interactive process is important – including relying upon medical information. Courts have upheld discharges for sleeping on the job, but increasingly will demand proof of an interactive process to address disabilities and perhaps more proof of hard to the employer’s business operations. Employers need to have a very strong basis to disregard appropriate medical information when disciplining an employee.
EEOC says poultry farm's attendance policy prevents hiring of disabled individuals
Legal News Line
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has filed a lawsuit against a poultry farm for allegedly violating the American with Disabilities Act (ADA).
The EEOC filed the suit against Wayne Farms in regards to two employees who were let go because of absences that violated the company’s attendance policy. The EEOC alleges the company’s attendance policy is a violation of the ADA as it allegedly requires the termination of any employee who accumulates more than nine absences in a 12-month period and doesn’t account for absences for a disability.
The National Law Review
On Aug. 29, the U.S. Equal Opportunity Employment Commission (EEOC) issued its much awaited Enforcement Guidance on Retaliation and Related Issues – its first enforcement guidance on workplace retaliation in more than 18 years. In addition to retaliation, this guidance also addresses the “interference” provision under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which prohibits threats, coercion or other actions that inhibit the exercise of ADA rights.
This guidance was highly anticipated as “retaliation is asserted in nearly 45 percent of all charges [received] and is the most frequently alleged basis of discrimination,” as stated by EEOC Chair Jenny R. Yang. In the last decade, charges of retaliation have even surpassed race discrimination, and in the federal sector, retaliation is a widespread problem, accounting for between 42 and 53 percent of all EEOC violations that occurred between 2009 and 2015.
ADA Allows Employers to Require Firm End-Date For Leave
HR.BLR.com
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) permits an employer to require a firm expected return-to-work date when granting leave as an accommodation.
A recent federal appeals court opinion illustrates just how specific an employee must be to make her request for leave “reasonable,” as the ADA requires.
ADA: What makes a job function truly 'essential'?
The employee had worked for the City of Anderson Transit System (CATS) for 28 years when his employment was terminated in 2012 because he was unable to hold a commercial driver's license (CDL).
Despite the employer's arguments to the contrary—and even though possessing a CDL was included in the former employee's job description—the jury agreed with him that having a CDL wasn't an essential function of his job. Let's see why the 7th Circuit also agreed with that determination.
Metropolitan Corporate Counsel
The hospitality industry is ever more dependent on the internet and mobile applications. Websites and apps are now the primary face that a hospitality provider presents to the world, and to their guests and customers until they are physically present. Loyalty programs are increasingly web and app focused as well. Booking sites are vying with providers to capture transactions on their sites. In particular, hotels and resorts don’t want to end up maintaining marketing and promotional sites while transactions are completed elsewhere. This all means that hospitality industry websites and apps have becoming increasingly sophisticated and feature-rich – and increasingly more important to the customer experience and the bottom line.
Wheels For Wheelchairs: Massachusetts Mandates Accessible Ride Sharing
Lexology
Massachusetts recently enacted its first statewide ride-sharing law requiring companies like Uber to provide accessible transportation for individuals with disabilities.
West Side man requests audible pedestrian signal from city
KSAT San Antonio
People without sight often rely on other senses to go about their daily lives.
West Side resident Roland Gomez already has limited mobility due to his disability, but enjoys walking around his neighborhood.
Employers talk about accommodating workers with disabilities
Billings Gazette
Staff at ZooMontana didn’t realize how difficult getting around the grounds can be for people with disabilities until they hired a man in a wheelchair for a front office job.
“We learned a lot about how noncompliant we were with the (Americans with Disabilities Act),” the zoo’s executive director, Jeff Ewelt, told the Job Services Employer Council on Wednesday. A telephone was mounted too high, and some zoo paths and bridges were difficult for the employee to negotiate.
“We wouldn’t have gotten that education if we hadn’t had him as an employee,” Ewelt said.
Bill Crawford: Federal overreach impacts Mississippi
Hattiesburg American
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 was passed to eliminate unjustified discrimination based on disability. It provides protections against discrimination to disabled Americans, requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations to disabled employees, and imposes accessibility requirements on public accommodations.
Now, the U.S. Department of Justice is telling Mississippi the ADA provides mentally ill adults an unconstrained constitutional right to community-based services.