ADA Does Not Require Extended Leave Beyond FMLA

An extended leave of absence for an employee is not a reasonable accommodation required by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), according to the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The court affirmed summary judgment against an employee who needed a two- to three-month absence in addition to Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) leave.

 

An employee of Heartland Woodcraft Inc., a fabricator of retail display fixtures, began working for Heartland a year after he started experiencing back pain in 2005. Over time, he was promoted from supervisor to shop superintendent to operations manager. In 2010, he was diagnosed with back myelopathy caused by impaired functioning and degenerative changes in his back, neck and spinal cord.

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How to Respond to Employees Who Want to Bring Guns to Work

Employers may choose to permit guns at their worksite, in compliance with applicable state and local laws. For employers that choose not to allow guns at work, here are some tips. 

Recognize Employees' Concerns

It is understandable that employees want to protect themselves from potential workplace dangers, said Terry Dawson, an attorney with Barnes & Thornburg in Indianapolis. This is particularly true for employees who work in busy hospitality sites that are open to the public, such as casinos, nightclubs, and concert venues. ...

Guns-in-Trunks Laws

Though employers can ban guns in the workplace, they need to be aware of state laws that give employees the right to store a firearm in a locked personal vehicle in the company's parking lot. About half of U.S. states have such laws. ...

Workplace Violence Policies

Any gun policy should be part of a broader workplace violence policy that sets forth the company's approach on weapons and violent on threatening behavior, Dawson said. ...

Click  here  to read more about how to address banning guns in the workplace.

White House Suspends Pay-Data Reporting on Revised EEO-1 Report

The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) plans to stay the effective date of the pay-data collection provisions of the revised EEO-1 form in order to review the appropriateness of the revisions under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA).

The revised EEO-1 form would have gone into effect March 31, 2018, and would have required employers with 100 or more employees to report W-2 wage information and total hours worked for all employees by race, ethnicity and sex within 12 proposed pay bands.

"Existing EEO-1 obligations have not changed, but employers will not need to report on wages or hours worked," said Nancy Hammer, senior government affairs policy counsel for the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). "We expect that EEOC will take further actions on this issue."   Click here  to read more.

EEO-1 Report that is normally due each September 30

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must be submitted and certified by March 31, 2018. To learn more go to: 

https://www.eeoc.gov/employers/eeo1survey/2017survey-fact-sheet.cfm