Answer: Yes, we recommend changing your policy. The federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires employers to reasonably accommodate an employee with a disability, and that may include an employee with temporary or ongoing medical limitations or restrictions. According to guidance from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), a medical certification or doctor’s note containing any kind of physical limitation or restriction due to a disability should be treated by the employer as a request for an accommodation. The accommodation request triggers the employer’s obligation to engage in the interactive process with the employee to determine if there are possible accommodations that would allow the employee to return to work. Each return-to-work situation must be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.
An employer in Nevada recently agreed to pay $3.5 million to settle litigation over its “100-percent-healed” policy (see EEOC v. Nevada Restaurant Services press release). The employer’s policy required employees returning from a medical, sick, or disability leave to be 100 percent fully recovered before they were allowed to return to work. The EEOC has been targeting employers with these bright-line policies that prevent employees with disabilities from returning to work in violation of the ADA. Such policies are discriminatory because they establish an unlawful workplace standard that does not allow for reasonable accommodation of qualified individuals with disabilities, which is in direct violation of ADA requirements.
Questions about complying with reasonable accommodation requirements? See our Legal Guide, At a Glance: Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and inquire about our flat-fee employment law advice services today.
On a related blog, learn about the reasons to offer early return-to-work to employees injured on the job. If you’re a Washington-based employer, inquire about joining our Washington Retro Program, which aims to prevent workplace injuries and reduce workers’ comp costs.