The road to unlawful disability discrimination is paved with “good intentions.” Many federal agency lawyers (and therefore everyone else listening to them) mistakenly believe that discrimination requires in every case proof of discriminatory intent. That means if management denies any discriminatory intent, there is no discrimination (absent other evidence). That also means that if you … Read more
Many federal agency managers come to the reasonable accommodation discussion armed with incorrect suppositions about the requirements of the law. They think accommodations are optional, or that if they make a good faith effort to accommodate, that is all that is required. These myths prevent many federal employees from getting the accommodations they need. Managers … Read more
I speak with many federal employees whose management has recently added “essential functions” to their job descriptions solely to avoid providing reasonable accommodations. This can amount to discrimination if the Agency denies a reasonable accommodation because of a “fake” essential function. Frequently these arise in telework situations. I call them fake here because they don’t … Read more
Too often federal employees call me with issues about getting what are otherwise very reasonable disability accommodations from their supervisors. The problem is that federal agency managers are normally trained to treat all employees the same. That works for many situations, but not for reasonable accommodations. Under the ADA, treating everyone the same can actually … Read more
When a federal employee is placed on leave involuntarily because of a medical condition, this is known as “enforced leave.” This is leave that is beyond the employee’s control. Often this is initiated by a “medical evaluation” where the employing agency sends an employee for a medical evaluation to determine whether he is “fit-for-duty” or … Read more
A motion for summary judgment, or a “motion for decision without a hearing,” and how to respond, is probably the most important event in any litigation. It is where one side presents all of the facts that it can to convince the judge that no hearing or trial is required. For federal employees who are pursuing their EEO claims, this can be confusing. It is not like other motions. It is centrally important to how the EEO process functions.
Reasonable accommodations are the way that persons with disabilities are able to enjoy the same rights to work as any other individual. They are the bridge between what the person with a disability can do and what they could do on equal footing with all other persons. The accommodation levels the playing field so that … Read more
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