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
Many federal employers are reluctant to provide full-time telework to its employees who have disability accommodation needs. Managers may believe that, instead of providing 100% telework, a reasonable compromise is to allow an employee to take some telework, but to require the employee to come in one or more days per week. Actually, this “compromise” … Read more
Many federal employees are returning to the office, some unwillingly. The Covid pandemic is not yet over, and may never truly be “over” in any case. Federal employees with disabilities are looking for guidance about whether they can continue to telework as a reasonable accommodation. For many federal employees, the answer is “maybe” and “it … Read more
What happens when an employee is injured, either on the job or outside of work, and is expected to recover soon but needs accommodations so he can return to work? Many federal employees face just such a situation. Employees who are injured or become sick often are forced to stay home instead of working, sometimes … 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
Many federal employees have difficulty obtaining reasonable accommodations from their federal employers because of unnecessary delays. Because the issue is in management’s hands, employees face particular difficulties getting even simple accommodations approved. But avoiding unnecessary delays can be critical to providing accommodations and avoiding charges of unlawful discrimination. Management often ignores issues One common problem … Read more
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