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As I discussed in a blog post last year, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has been bringing cases on behalf of applicants/employees who use lawfully prescribed opioids (including methadone) against employers who fail to conduct an individualized assessment of the applicant/employee to determine whether those drugs made them unqualified for the position. In EEOC v. Steel Painters LLC, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas held that a reasonable jury could find that the employer did just that.
Continue Reading Methadone User Can Sue Under ADA

And with that obvious (and rather snarky) statement, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit made the obvious point that an employee who was asleep or unconscious on the job was unable to perform the essential functions of his job and therefore not qualified for the position under the Americans with Disabilities Act! Now, as my regular readers know, I enjoy a good snark and my blog posts about various court decisions often contain snide comments. But in this case, the (usually quite proper) Fifth Circuit took care of that all on its own…
Continue Reading “[M]aintaining consciousness is a basic element of any job.”

It is a truth universally acknowledged that an employee unable to perform the essential functions of his/her job must be in want of a transfer. And it is also quite clear under the Americans with Disabilities Act that the employer must consider a transfer or reassignment to a vacant position as a reasonable accommodation. What is less clear is whether the employee automatically gets the position (i.e. an arranged marriage) or whether the employer can require the employee to compete for the position (see, e.g. “The Bachelor”).
Continue Reading A Marriage of Convenience? EEOC Continues To Push Non-Competitive Transfer as Reasonable Accommodation

Hey baseball fans, as well as all you casual observers of the sport.  If you’re like me, you’ve noticed the huge spike in home runs (Commissioner Manfred says the balls are not juiced), some of the unexpected blockbuster trades just before last week’s trade deadline, and the emergence of young second generation stars like Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Fernando Tatis Jr.  But there’s another significant development that you may have overlooked.  I know I was asleep at the switch and did not see the news over the winter about the renaming of the Disabled List or DL, as it’s been called for over 100 years.  Truth be told, as an employment and labor lawyer, I’ve always wondered about that term.  When a player went on that list with a hamstring pull or a sprained ankle, was I to assume he was really disabled?  Especially as that term is defined under the Americans with Disabilities Act?  Of course not. Even though the ADA can sometimes be expanded to include even transient conditions, a player with a pulled hammy is not disabled.
Continue Reading Why Is Giancarlo Stanton on the Injured List, not the Disabled List?

According to Pharmajet Blog, a surprising number of pharmacists suffer from trypanophobia – the fear of giving injections, which most in their profession have to do these days during flu season. As Pharmajet notes, the Americans with Disabilities Act generally does not help the needle-phobic pharmacist because companies have a right to define the essential functions of a job.Continue Reading Pharmacist Afraid of Needles? Be a Stickler About Essential Job Functions!!

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An employee requested that she be permitted to leave work early every day due to her anxiety triggered by driving home in heavy traffic (those of us in major metropolitan areas would never survive!). When her demand was rejected and she ended up being terminated, Heather Trautman brought suit against her employer, alleging violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Family Medical Leave Act, and related state laws, Trautman v. Time Warner Cable Texas, LLC.
Continue Reading Leaving Work Early Due to Fear of Rush-Hour Traffic Is Not a Reasonable Accommodation

A recent case highlighted a important point under the Americans with Disabilities Act that is often overlooked – reasonable accommodations are not limited only to enabling employees with disabilities to perform the essential functions of their jobs! They must also be provided to allow those employees to enjoy privileges and benefits of employment equal to non-disabled employees!
Continue Reading Reasonable Accommodations – Not Just for Essential Functions!

I’m embarrassed to admit that I used to be one of those people who hate dogs.  How could anyone dislike an adorable bundle of fur that excitedly greets you each time you walk in the door, you ask?  I know, it’s crazy.  Fortunately, I’ve come to my senses and now gush over any dog I see – anytime, anywhere.  So this begs the question: will I ever be able to see a dog every day while I’m at work?
Continue Reading Raining Cats and Dogs in the Workplace? It’s Pawssible

Recently, I blogged about a press release from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in which it misstated the law on post-offer medical examinations under the Americans with Disabilities Act. I was hoping that was a one-off mistake. But another recent EEOC press release has given me some concern, because I believe that it again misleads employers on their obligations under the ADA – this time with regard to associational discrimination.
Continue Reading Another Misleading EEOC Press Release on the ADA…

This week, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission trumpeted a $4.4 million settlement in a lawsuit in which the EEOC claimed that Amsted Rail had violated the Americans with Disabilities Act by disqualifying applicants based on the results of a test for carpal tunnel syndrome. In the EEOC’s press release, Andrea G. Baran, regional attorney for the EEOC’s St Louis District Office, was quoted as follows: “While it is lawful under some circumstances for employers to conduct limited medical exams after making conditional offers to job applicants, it is not ‘anything goes’.” Wait, what? Actually, I thought it was “anything goes” at that point!
Continue Reading What Is the EEOC’s Position on Post-offer/Pre-employment Medical Exams?