The Reference and Requests for Information policy states that all inquiries regarding a present or past employee are to be referred to the Human Resources Department. Only factual information concerning an employee will be released. This information may be confined to confirming that the individual was employed with the company,...
Since the use of polygraphs in most employment settings was outlawed in 1988, employers have been flocking to integrity or honesty testing as the best way to get behind a prospective employee's resume. As many as 5 million tests are given a year, and the testing industry, which has been...
Any architect involved with school design over the past decade has become very familiar with the Americans with Disabilities Act ADA; groundbreaking legislation that went into effect in 1992. This legislation impacts countless facets of school design, from doorways to door handles. Although most architects are now thoroughly proficient in...
From the executive summary: ‘In the past, some employment applications and interviews requested information about an applicant's physical or mental condition. The information was often used to exclude applicants with disabilities before their ability to perform the job was even evaluated. It was observed that applicants were often asked...
A study published by the American Bar Association reports that nearly 95% of lawsuits filed under the federal Americans with Disabilities Act ADA and nearly 80% of administrative claims of disability discrimination are ultimately decided in favor of the defendant. However, at the same time, employers and their HR departments...
For employers, keeping the workplace free of discrimination makes good business sense, not only does it prevent costly lawsuits, but it also improves employee morale. This article provides an overview of discrimination prohibited under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, Americans with Disabilities Act ADA, and Age Discrimination in...
To commemorate the tenth anniversary of the ADA the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC"), two major guidances and a status report are addressed. Many people view the ADA as an employment statute. A public accommodation is a facility whose operations "affect commerce" and which fall within at least one...
This article says that employer should provide the specific reasonable accommodation requested by a disabled employee unless the employee's suggested accommodation presents an undue hardship to the employer's operations. This ruling requires employers to rethink the way they address accommodation requests from employees who work in Pennsylvania, Delaware, and New...
This paper explores the backlash against and hostility toward the Americans with Disabilities Act ADA by examining the relationship between politics, policy, and economics - particularly with regard to the interests of business. The paper argues that the backlash against the ADA is a product of capitalist opposition. This opposition...
The article in this newsletter on the $6.8 million settlement negotiated between the EEOC and Wal-Mart amply demonstrates, employers must be mindful to limit their curiosity regarding potential disabilities and, instead, focus all inquiries on "essential job functions" only. Since the enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA") in...
A recent decision by the United States Supreme Court addresses the conflicts that sometimes occur between a seniority system and a disabled employee's request for "reasonable" accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act. The Court held that employers are entitled to a rebuttable presumption that an accommodation is unreasonable if...
The EEOC issued new enforcement guidance on December 27, 2000, to further explain the application of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 ADA to contingent workers. Contingent workers are broadly defined as workers who are placed in positions by staffing firms, which include agencies such as temporary employment agencies...
There are varied types of people in the world. Some are blessed with ‘extra something’ that provides them an opportunity to take on the world. Still, there are some who possess the talent, but fail to give a proper shape due to lack of means and bad fate. The people...
The Americans with Disabilities Act prohibits disability discrimination in employment for employers with 15 or more employees. The prohibition is far-reaching and covers hiring, firing, and everything in between, such as promotions, benefits, and harassment in the workplace.
United States Supreme Court examined whether four director-shareholder physicians should be subject to a lawsuit filed under the Americans with Disabilities Act ADA (Clackamas Gastroenterology Associates, P.C. v. Wells, No. 01-1435, Decided: 04/22/03). The issue was whether the four director-shareholder physicians should be counted as ""employees."" Deborah Anne Wells worked...
The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 ADA continues to shape employment, governmental services, telecommunications, public accommodations, and perhaps most important, public attitudes. The ADA is the most comprehensive federal law to address discrimination against an estimated 50 million Americans. Its implementation remains the subject of intense public policy debate....
From the executive summary: ‘The Supreme Court has set appropriate limits on who should be protected under the Americans with Disabilities Act ADA and has restricted the group of individuals likely to be successful with an ADA claim. Practically speaking, however, the decisions should not change the manner in which...
This article describes a case in which an engineering firm, Engineering, Inc.1, was retained to design improvements to the streetscape of a small, suburban town, (“Town”) located in a hilly section of central Massachusetts. The design of the streetscape improvements implicated the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) and state accessibility...
Several courts have held employers liable for improper medical inquiries and assessed them large monetary penalties even though no discrimination took place. To prevent violations, HR professionals should review employment application forms and standard pre-offer interview questions to make sure they do not contain medical inquiries. Further, HR personnel should...
The case study refers that it is not necessary for an employer to provide a stress-free working environment as a reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA"). Another problem that arises for the HR Professionals are the rising cases of romance at the work place. While the merry...
