Category Archives: Accessibility & Accommodation
Subscribe to Accessibility & Accommodation RSS FeedEmployers Face New Accommodation Requirements For Nursing Mothers
In our recent blog post, we highlighted legislation that will impact employers this year related to nursing and pregnant employees: the Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers Act (the “PUMP Act”) and the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (the “PWFA”). As this legislation becomes effective—with the PUMP Act taking effect on April 28, 2023 and the … Continue Reading
EEOC Issues New Workplace Guidance Regarding COVID-19 Testing
EEOC Releases New Guidance on COVID-related Caregiver Discrimination
On March 14, 2022, the EEOC released new guidance regarding caregiver discrimination and the COVID-19 pandemic, in light of many workplaces returning to in-person work. The new guidance supplements earlier guidance regarding the treatment of workers with caregiving responsibilities. The new guidance reiterates that while the status of being a caregiver is not a protected … Continue Reading
Louisiana Enacts Workplace Protections for Employees Disabled Due to Pregnancy and Limits the Use of Criminal Background Checks in Hiring
EEOC Issues Additional Guidance on COVID-19 Vaccines
On May 28, the EEOC issued updated and expanded guidance for employers, addressing many unanswered questions regarding COVID-19 vaccinations. The updates supplement prior EEOC guidance and focus on four topics: (1) mandatory vaccination policies; (2) accommodations; (3) information about employee vaccination status; and (4) vaccine incentives. Below, we highlight the key guidance on each topic. … Continue Reading
EEOC Issues Guidance on COVID-19 Vaccines
On December 16, the EEOC issued updated guidance for employers in light of the Food and Drug Administration’s (“FDA”) recent authorization of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use. Widespread vaccinations are largely perceived as critical in returning all employees to the workplace safely and resuming normal business operations. As such, many employers have been grappling … Continue Reading
EEOC Releases Guidance on Employee Opioid Use and the ADA
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) has released new informal guidance directed at employees regarding use of opioids and employer obligations under the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”). The EEOC also released a companion document for health care providers on helping patients who have used opioids to remain employed. The guidance defines “opioids” to include … Continue Reading
EEOC Updates Its COVID-19 Guidance
CDC Releases Guidance for Employers Regarding the Coronavirus
As the recent Coronavirus outbreak continues, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has released guidance specifically for employers, outlining recommendations and best practices to protect their workplaces. As we previously addressed in detail in our prior blog on Coronavirus and the Workplace, employers may face a number of issues related to the Coronavirus … Continue Reading
[Podcast]: How Employers Can Deal with the Coronavirus
Coronavirus and the Workplace: What Employers Need To Know
*** Last Updated: March 13, 2020 *** News that cases of the newly-identified 2019 Novel Coronavirus (also referred to as COVID-19, 2019-nCoV, or SARS-CoV-2, but more commonly known simply as the “Coronavirus”) continue to spread has prompted employers to think about employee safety and ways to address prevention in the workplace, as well as planning … Continue Reading
New York City Extends Human Rights Law Protections and Training Requirements to Freelancers and Independent Contractors
Effective January 11, 2020, the New York City Human Rights Law (“NYCHRL”) has been amended to expand protections under the law to freelancers and independent contractors. Significantly, this includes the requirement that certain contractors now complete annual sexual harassment prevention training in the same manner as covered employees. Contractors also are now eligible for reasonable … Continue Reading
Emerging Trend: ADA Does Not Cover Potential Future Disabilities
Heeding the adage “no one knows what the future may hold,” the Seventh, Eighth and Eleventh Circuits have uniformly refused to extend protections of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to employees with a perceived risk of a potential impairment. In each case, an employer either declined to hire an applicant or terminated an employee … Continue Reading
NYC Council Passes Bills Expanding Lactation Room Requirements for Employers
UPDATE: The new laws have been enacted and will take effect on March 17, 2019. The New York City Council recently passed two bills that would amend the NYC Human Rights Law to expand the requirements of employers with four or more employees to provide lactation space for breastfeeding employees. The bills have been sent … Continue Reading
New York City “Cooperative Dialogue” Law for Employees Seeking Reasonable Accommodation Takes Effect October 15
New York City’s new law requiring employers to engage in a “cooperative dialogue” with employees requesting reasonable accommodation and provide a written determination at the end of the cooperative dialogue process takes effect on October 15, 2018. As we have previously reported, while the New York City Human Rights Law (NYCHRL) has long required that … Continue Reading
Proposed Rules Issued for New Jersey Paid Sick Leave Act
The New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development has issued proposed rules for the recently enacted New Jersey paid sick leave act (the “Act”), which will take effect on October 29, 2018. The proposed rules will be subject to a 60-day public comment period. As we have previously reported, the Act will require employers … Continue Reading
Illinois Expands Workplace Protections for Breastfeeding Employees
Governor Bruce Rauner has signed into law a bill that expands protections for employees needing to express breast milk in the workplace. The law amends the preexisting Nursing Mothers in the Workplace Act (the “Act”) in several significant ways—most notably that break time provided for the expression of milk “may not reduce an employee’s compensation” … Continue Reading
[Podcast]: New York City Temporary Schedule Change Law
Mandatory Posting Requirement Announced for NYC Temporary Schedule Change Law
As we have previously reported, effective July 18, 2018, employers in New York City are now required to grant employee requests for temporary work schedule changes when needed for certain medical and family care purposes. Employers are required to grant such requests either twice per calendar year for up to one business day per request, … Continue Reading
Are You Prepared for the Massachusetts Pregnant Workers Fairness Act to Go Into Effect on April 1?
As the April 1, 2018 effective date of the Massachusetts Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (“MPWFA”) draws near, it is time to ensure that company policies and practices are in compliance with the new law. Within the last few months, the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (“MCAD”) has issued interpretative guidance (including initial guidance issued January 23, … Continue Reading
Amendment to New York City Human Rights Law Mandates Employers to Engage in “Cooperative Dialogue” with Employees Seeking an Accommodation
The New York City Council voted last month to amend the New York City Human Rights Law (“NYCHRL”) to mandate that covered entities engage in “cooperative dialogue” with those persons who may be entitled to a reasonable accommodation. On January 19, 2018, because the Mayor failed to take action within thirty days of its passage, the … Continue Reading
New Jersey Enacts State Anti-Discrimination Protections for Breastfeeding
Newly enacted amendments to the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (NJLAD) have expanded state anti-discrimination protections in the workplace, housing, and in public accommodations to include individuals who are breastfeeding or expressing milk. The amendments also require employers to provide reasonable accommodation to breastfeeding employees. The amendments took effect immediately upon signing by the Governor … Continue Reading
UPDATE: NYC Council Passes Bill Requiring Accommodation of Temporary Schedule Changes for Certain Medical and Family Care Purposes
The New York City Council has passed a bill that will require employers to grant requests for temporary work schedule changes when needed for certain medical and family care purposes. UPDATE: The bill became law on January 19, 2018 after Mayor Bill de Blasio neither signed nor vetoed it. It takes effect on July 18, … Continue Reading
