EEOC Sues Hirschbach Motor Lines For Disability Discrimination
Hirschbach Motor Lines, Inc. violated federal law by using a pre-employment "back assessment" to screen out and reject job applicants it regarded as disabled for truck-driving positions in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA"), the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit.
Disability Accommodations: To Grant or Not to Grant?
Bloomberg BNA
The Americans with Disabilities Act requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations that will enable qualified individuals to perform their jobs, but what is the dividing line between reasonable and unreasonable? And what types of requests can employers reject because they would pose an undue hardship on their business?
While the answers to these questions often hinge on specific facts and circumstances, recent cases offer insights on how the courts and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission approach failure-to-accommodate claims. Several examples were reviewed at the National Employment Law Institute's 28th Annual ADA and FMLA Compliance Update in Washington.
ADA Rewards Employers That Stick to the Essentials
Bloomberg BNA
Courts are willing to defer to an employer’s judgment about a job’s “essential functions,” but employers can help them out by writing realistic job descriptions, says attorney Joshua Stein, a partner with Epstein Becker Green in New York.
Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, identifying “essential” job functions is a key step in determining if a worker with a disability is a “qualified individual” who may be entitled to reasonable accommodation under the act. Only individuals who can perform a job’s essential functions, with or without reasonable accommodation, are covered by the ADA.
Stand Fast, Employers: What You Need To Know About Standing Desks
Lexology
As the old adage goes, the grass is always greener on the other side. Many employees who are required to stand all day for their jobs would like the option to sit. But in recent years, many employees who traditionally sit behind a desk all day want the option to stand while doing work.
With articles flooding the news about the health benefits of standing desks, the traditional office setting has seen a trend of employee requests for standing desks or variable workstations that would allow the worker to sit or stand at their leisure throughout the day. How should you respond to such inquiries? Should you always provide employees with standing desks upon request? Are you ever required to provide an employee with a variable desk? Could failure to provide a variable workstation become a safety and health hazard?
As with nearly every legal question, the answer to all of these questions is: it depends. When responding to such requests you must be cognizant of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act), and even possible claims of disparate or unfair treatment. But let’s first address the question of whether standing desks do anything to improve health.
Legally blind boy takes on Little League: I just wanted to use a yellow ball
WZZM13.com
After a three-year legal scuffle, Ryan, who is in his final year of Little League, heads into the 2018 season with a special waiver allowing the optic-yellow ball to be used when he's at bat, pitching or playing infield.