I have encountered many reasonable accommodation coordinators who wrongly believe that if an employee requests a reasonable accommodation and does not receive the accommodation, the employee is not entitled to continue in their employment. This is a complete misreading (or non-reading) of the ADA. Here’s an example of the issue: Mark has carpal tunnel syndrome. … Read more
I previously posted a video about some basic rules about how RIFs are conducted in the federal government and the statutory and regulatory basis. I want to expand on these rules as these RIFs are arriving in people’s inboxes so that they know what their rights are. These challenges will largely proceed through the Merit Systems Protection … Read more
Photo by Scott Graham on Unsplash This is not in any way intended to constitute legal advice specific to your situation, but merely to point out some of the issues that I see with some of these drafts that have come out of these Agencies and what employees may want to consider when considering whether the “fork in … Read more
Employees with reasonable accommodation needs often face a common problem: their requested accommodations are not adequately supported by their medical documentation, leading agencies to offer alternative accommodations that do not effectively meet their needs. The Disability Laws only require that employers meet the minimum needs of the employee. They do not necessarily have to provide … Read more
I have always counseled federal employees to “trust but verify” when it comes to their agency’s EEO Office and any advice they get from these employees. Largely this is because the agency EEO office offers a lot of unqualified advice that is frequently wrong or glosses over important details that are important for my clients … Read more
When a federal employee requests a reasonable accommodation for a disability, the Agency often has an obligation under the Rehabilitation Act to engage in a good-faith interactive process to identify an effective solution. However, all too often, Agencies attempt to bypass this crucial step by simply offering a pre-determined, “off-the-shelf” accommodation without fully considering the … Read more
An issue overlooked by many federal agencies is their obligation under EEOC regulations to cover the expenses of certain medical evaluations for job applicants. This responsibility is particularly significant in roles demanding extensive physical exertion, such as law enforcement and other similar positions. Many federal agencies have either misunderstood or haven’t adequately updated their policies, … Read more
The Agency DRAD (Disability Reasonable Accommodation Division) and other RACs (Reasonable Accommodation Coordinators or Committees) for federal employees are responsible for ensuring that employees with disabilities are provided with reasonable accommodations to perform their job duties. Their job is generally, at least on paper, to work with employees and their supervisors to identify what accommodations … Read more
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
Most federal agencies have difficulty dealing with reasonable accommodations because, well, they just don’t understand it. Many managers, HR, and EEO personnel are familiar with the concept of discrimination—at least insofar as they can avoid a charge of discrimination by having (and documenting) a “legitimate, non-discriminatory reason” for their actions. But this does not apply … Read more
Find a time to talk about your case with a lawyer, not an intake coordinator.
Here’s what you should know: