Under the Americans with Disabilities Act and parallel state statutes, an employer cannot take an adverse action against an employee because of that person’s disability or perceived disability. However, an employer is justified in taking such action if the action is based upon a legitimate business reason, and if that reason is not simply a
December 2009
Ogletree Deakins E-Alert: COBRA Subsidy extended
By Maria Danaher on
Posted in COBRA
On December 21, 2009, just in time for the holidays, and as part of the 2010 appropriations bill for the Defense Department (the Act), President Barack Obama signed into law an extension to the subsidy for COBRA created by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). The legislation extended the period during which involuntary terminations…
Leave of absence taken in order to recover from a disability is not necessarily a “reasonable accommodation” under the ADA.
By Maria Danaher on
Posted in ADA, Reasonable accommodation
In an unpublished opinion, the 2d U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has held that an employee who requested a leave of absence to consult an orthopedic surgeon was unable to prove that the absence would allow him to perform the essential functions of his position. Therefore, the absence was not a "reasonable accommodation" for purposes…
Attendance at work is an essential function of the job in most instances.
By Maria Danaher on
Posted in ADA
In an unpublished opinion, the 2d U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has held that an employee of the New York City Department of Education could not establish a prima facie case of disability discrimination, because she could not prove herself to be “otherwise qualified” within the meaning of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Rios…