Leave requests that concern an employee’s disability are the subject of new guidance issued today by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
This resource is intended to help educate employers and employees about workplace leave under the ADA to prevent discriminatory denials of leave from occurring, the EEOC said in announcing the new guidance.
The EEOC said it has identified a “troubling trend” in Americans With Disabilities Act charges–“the prevalence of employer policies that deny or unlawfully restrict the use of leave as a reasonable accommodation. These policies often serve as systemic barriers to the employment of workers with disabilities. They may cause many workers to be terminated who otherwise could have returned to work after obtaining needed leave without undue hardship to the employer.”
EEOC regulations already provide that reasonable accommodations may include leave, potentially including unpaid leave that exceeds a company’s normal leave allowances.
The document, Employer-Provided Leave and the Americans with Disabilities Act, also addresses undue hardship issues, including the amount and/or length of leave required, the frequency of leave, the predictability of intermittent leave, and the impact on the employer’s operations and its ability to serve customers and clients in a timely manner.
Read the EEOC’s announcement, which includes a link to the new guidance.
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