This post was contributed by Adam L. Santucci, an Attorney in McNees Wallace & Nurick LLC’s Labor & Employment Practice Group in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
When the Americans with Disabilities Act definition of “disability” was expanded by the ADA Amendments Act of 2008, we told you to expect an increase in accommodation requests and disability
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recently released updated enforcement guidance on pregnancy discrimination to help employers comply with both the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA) and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) when addressing pregnancy-related issues.
Continue Reading EEOC Issues New Enforcement Guidance on Pregnancy Discrimination
Last month, in EEOC v. Ford Motor Company, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals (covering Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, and Michigan) held for the first time that employers may be required to permit employees to telecommute as a reasonable accommodation for a disability. While the decision is not binding on employers in the Third Circuit (covering Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware), the case is significant for employers within the Sixth Circuit’s jurisdiction and beyond as it clearly signals a willingness to expand the traditional concept of what constitutes an employer’s “workplace” as modern technology continues to evolve.
Continue Reading Can Telecommuting Be a Reasonable Accommodation under the ADA?
On March 24, 2011, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued the final version of the regulations (pdf) implementing the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act (ADAAA). The final regulations were modified as compared to the EEOC’s initial proposed regulations, and the changes to the regulations made will likely be welcomed by employers. For more information from the EEOC on the
The ADA Amendments Act re-wrote the definition of disability so that it will likely include obesity-related health conditions and perhaps obesity itself as a protected disability. Before the ADA Amendments, being overweight and even obese was not generally considered a "disability". For example in EEOC v. Watkins Motor Lines, Inc., a court determined that