For decades, employers have applied the usual FMLA rules for an employee who cannot work because of limitations due to pregnancy. When these limitations render a pregnant employee unable to work, the employer has always had the right to obtain medical certification to confirm the limitation and the employee’s need for leave from work.
When
Today has arrived.
Though several states beat Congress to the punch, as of today, employers are required under the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) to provide reasonable accommodations to employees who are limited from working due to pregnancy and childbirth.
I provide an overview of the PWFA below, but first, please join me for a
For years, employers across America have been clamoring for guidance from the EEOC about how they should manage an employee’s request for extended or intermittent leave from work and how much leave is considered as a reasonable accommodation under the ADA. This week, employers received an answer.
Well, kind of.
Yesterday, the EEOC issued a
Do you know what happens when you maintain a policy or practice that requires an employee to return to work without restrictions or “100% healed”? You pay. A lot.
Just ask Brookdale Senior Living Communities. Brookdale employed Bernadine, who suffered from fibromyalgia. According to the EEOC, Brookdale refused Bernadine’s accommodation requests for a temporary modified
Earlier this week, I had the privilege of presenting on the FMLA and ADA reasonable accommodations at CUPA-HR‘s annual conference with my friend, Stan Kulesa from The Standard.
We spent much of our time discussing the delicate topic of light duty and how it intersects with — and creates employer obligations under —
Ena Wages served as a property manager for one of several apartment complexes owned by Stuart Management Corp. She began her employment on November 17, 2008, and this is significant under the FMLA because nearly one year later, on November 13, 2009, Ena’s physician restricted the number hours she could work as a result of
There must be something in the water. Over the past few months alone, I have reviewed a number of employers’ policies and correspondence regarding an employee’s return to work from a leave of absence. What has been surprising to me is the number of employer policies that require an employee to return from leave with
With the growth of blogs and other social networking like Linkedin and Twitter, news comes at us fast and furious these days. In a recent blog post, LexBlog CEO and legal marketing guru Kevin O’Keefe cited a recent survey finding that 55 percent of people hear about breaking news on Facebook and 20
When: Wednesday, August 31, 2011 (12:00 – 1:15 p.m. CDT)
On Wednesday, August 31, I will host a complimentary webinar addressing key questions and topics essential to understanding an employer’s obligation to provide leave as a reasonable accommodation under the ADA. I am extremely pleased to be joined by EEOC Regional Attorney John Hendrickson,
Yesterday, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) released the much-anticipated final regulations (pdf) for the ADA Amendments Act of 2008. The EEOC will publish the regulations in the Federal Register today, and they will become effective in 60 days, on May 24, 2011. The EEOC has issued a press release highlighting the release of