If a qualified job candidate asks to reschedule a second-round interview due to severe menstrual cramps associated with endometriosis, is that a request for an accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act? If you...more
6/18/2025
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Litigation ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Healthcare ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Settlement ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Title VII
If you have a grooming policy based on safety factors (like no beards for firefighters), does that trump an employee’s request for a religious accommodation? Maybe not. A recent Third Circuit decision, Smith v. City of...more
Earlier this month, in Strife v. Aldine Independent School District, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals held that an employer’s delayed accommodation of an employee’s disability could amount to a failure to accommodate under...more
5/28/2025
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Appeals ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Discrimination ,
Educational Institutions ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Employment Litigation ,
Failure to Accommodate ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
School Districts
As everyone in Human Resources knows by now, the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) requires employers to reasonably accommodate employees because of pregnancy and conditions related to pregnancy. In case you missed it, we...more
5/8/2025
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Compliance ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Pregnancy ,
Pregnancy Discrimination ,
Pregnant Workers Fairness Act ,
Reasonable Accommodation
In early April 2025, the Seventh U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals recognized that employers could be held liable for monetary damages and other relief for violating the medical inquiry and examination limitations of the...more
President Donald Trump’s “Return to In-Person Work” executive order (EO) mandates that federal employees return to full-time office work. This EO effectively ended the widespread hybrid and remote work arrangements that had...more
2/12/2025
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Policies ,
Enforcement Priorities ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Executive Orders ,
Labor Reform ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Trump Administration
What does the EEOC have to do with smart watches, rings, glasses, helmets and other devices that track bodily movement and other data? These devices, known as “wearables,” can track location, brain activity, heart rate, and...more
1/21/2025
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Protection ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Discrimination ,
Employee Privacy Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Smart Devices ,
Technology Sector ,
Title VII ,
Tracking Systems
In recent weeks, the EEOC has filed a number of lawsuits on behalf of individuals, alleging a range of employment claims. Here, we provide a brief overview of those lawsuits and the issues that may be on the EEOC’s mind....more
With the passage of the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA), the law on how you accommodate pregnant workers changed last June, and we blogged about it. Then the EEOC issued extensive regulations last August, and we blogged...more
6/21/2024
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Employee Rights ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Labor Reform ,
Pregnancy ,
Pregnancy Discrimination ,
Pregnant Workers Fairness Act ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Regulatory Agenda
What accommodations are reasonable under the ADA? Employers are required to provide modifications or adjustments that enable a job applicant to be considered for a position. Beyond the application process, employers must also...more
Does it seem like you are dealing with more mental health issues in your workforce? If so, you are not alone. Recent mental health claim statistics show an alarming increase in chronic illnesses since the pandemic. For adults...more
It has been a long road to this point, but the final Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) regulations are here. We first blogged in early 2023 about the PWFA, which became effective in June 2023, and again last August when...more
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires covered employers to provide reasonable accommodations for employees with disabilities. To help determine effective accommodations, employers should use an “interactive...more
If an individual’s disability causes involuntary racist or profane utterances, what would a reasonable accommodation under the ADA look like? In Cooper v. Dolgencorp, LLC, the Sixth Circuit faced just such an inquiry....more
2023 has brought many updates and changes to the legal landscape. Our blog posts have covered many of them, but you may not remember (or care to remember) them. Before moving on to 2024, let’s take a moment to review our top...more
12/29/2023
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Exemptions ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Healthcare ,
Income Taxes ,
Over-Time ,
Paid Leave ,
Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers Act (“PUMP Act”) ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Vaccinations
Everyone has been preparing for the recently enacted Pregnant Workers Fairness Act and the PUMP Act. Earlier this month the EEOC gave us another reason to make sure our policies are up to snuff. Frontier Airlines and the EEOC...more
12/15/2023
/ Breastfeeding ,
Employee Rights ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Lactation Accommodation ,
Pregnancy ,
Pregnancy Discrimination ,
Pregnant Workers Fairness Act ,
Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers Act (“PUMP Act”) ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Settlement
When is driving an essential function of a job? What if the employee drives herself to customers’ homes to provide services and now wants to use alternative modes of transportation? What if the employee’s request is because...more
Tips to Change the Mental Health Culture in Your Workforce -
Let’s face it—while the stigma about mental health issues has gotten better, much work is still needed. It is up to all of us to help improve the dialogue and tone...more
It’s time for the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA). We’ve been warning you that the PWFA is coming and in less than a week, on June 27, the PWFA goes into effect. We’re still waiting on the EEOC’s proposed regulations but...more
Your employee requests a reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) but you refuse to grant it. If the employee continues to perform their job, can the employee still sue you for refusing the...more
5/31/2023
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Appeals ,
Compensation ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Disability ,
Employee Training ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Failure to Accommodate ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Interpreters ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Reversal
All employers subject to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) must post an updated version of the FLSA “Employee Rights” poster to remain compliant with the law....more
5/18/2023
/ Breastfeeding ,
Covered Employer ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Minimum Wage ,
Over-Time ,
Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers Act (“PUMP Act”) ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Rest and Meal Break ,
Wage and Hour
You may recall that the Pregnant Works Fairness Act (PWFA) is modeled after the Americans with Disabilities Act and we blogged about the coming changes here. Given that the effective date is June 27, we’re back with an update...more
4/11/2023
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Breastfeeding ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
New Legislation ,
Pregnancy ,
Pregnancy Discrimination ,
Pregnant Workers Fairness Act ,
Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers Act (“PUMP Act”) ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Rest and Meal Break ,
Title VII
Can you have a no pets at work policy? What if an employee has a service dog? What if it is an emotional support dog? As with all things legal (and ADA), it depends, and you should give some thought and engage in an...more
Most of us know that when an employee or visitor to a place of public accommodation requests a reasonable accommodation, the ADA requires an interactive process to make an individualized determination. But what about a...more
2/16/2023
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Dog-Friendly Workplace ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Health and Safety ,
Healthcare ,
Hospitals ,
Nursing Homes ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Service Animals
Your job descriptions may be more important than you think, and what better time to review and update them than the start of the new year? In this blog, we discuss why job descriptions are important and the things to consider...more