We’ve all tussled with fitness-for-duty exams. When are they the right decision? When do they create liability? As a court warned last week, when you need assurance, it’s best to let the doctor make the right call …

Suicide ranks as the 11th leading cause of death in the United States and it peaks around this time of year. So what do you do if you learn one of your employees brandished a gun and threatened suicide, but a doctor released him back to work in a week? Shouldn’t you be concerned about safety? One court warned, “a doctor’s note… is a doctor’s note” and terminating that worker could spark an ADA claim …

It’s getting dark out sooner. And with the darker season comes struggles for employees who suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). SAD is a form of depression in which a decrease of natural light triggers a mood disorder. So does that mean you may have to offer SAD sufferers a workspace near sunlight? Quite possibly, as a recent court ruled that “Natural light may be a medical necessity”…

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) has been in place for almost 20 years and was expanded this year to create even broader protections. If employees know their rights, and courts know them too, why don’t employers? Let’s see how a talk show ended up in the middle of a big courtroom drama …

You’re required to offer job accommodations to employees with qualifying disabilities. But if an employee has a medical condition that requires frequent bathroom breaks, does that count as a “disability”? The answer is a clear “yes," especially this year …

You must grant “reasonable” work accommodations to disabled employees. But what if the person’s disability could actually create a safety threat in the workplace? Must you still keep him in that job?

If you have an employee who seems constantly exhausted, take note: He or she may suffer from chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). And under the newly revised Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), that person could be deemed “disabled” and entitled to reasonable work accommodations ...

Do you have employees who are required to drive as part of their duties? What should you do if they start taking prescription painkillers? Do you have to still let them get behind the wheel in order to avoid an Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) claim? Or can you fire them for not being able to perform the essential functions of the job?

Do you have employees who are easily distracted, restless, disorganized and forgetful? Maybe that’s just who they are—or maybe they’ve been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). It’s pretty common. About 8 million American adults suffer from it. It’s an “invisible” disability, but one court recently said employers shouldn’t be so fast to discount it. A disability is a disability … whether you can see it or not.

Diabetes is the cause of 15 million lost workdays a year in the United States and, starting in 2009, the ADA expressly makes diabetes a covered disability. A new court ruling shows the legal risk caused by supervisors who lack the understanding of (or compassion for) diabetic symptoms, which sometimes include frequent urination … 

Your organization must make “reasonable" efforts to accommodate an employee’s qualifying disability. But, as a new case shows, don’t be so quick to simply transfer that employee to another position. The ADA and many state laws require you to first try to accommodate disabled workers in their current jobs …

If you know an employee is suffering from depression, don’t be so quick to accept his or her hasty resignation, a new court ruling shows. Instead, you may need to identify this person as disabled under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and, therefore, engage in an “interactive process” to find a work accommodation …

October is breast cancer awareness month. And he statistical chances of having female employees with breast cancer (or who are survivors of breast cancer) are high. One court says you’d better not discriminate against women with breast cancer or get ready to write a check with a pink pen …

Do some of your employees have medical conditions that require them to sit while others have to stand? Co-workers may gripe about unfair treatment if you provide a stool or chair for that worker. But a new court ruling shows why “unfair” actions are better than illegal ones …

Do some of your employees work in hot conditions? If those workers have heart conditions, they may be entitled to air conditioning as a “reasonable accommodation” under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) …

Do you ever fear that employees’ physical problems could create a danger to themselves or others around them? Think it would be best to change their duties to keep everyone safe? A new court ruling shows why such a well-intentioned deed could backfire into a “regarded as disabled” lawsuit under the Americans with Disabilities Act...

Chances are, you’ve got at least one diabetic employee in your workplace. What would you say if that person asked for an altered work schedule so she could eat regular meals, check her blood or exercise? Are you required by law to grant such requests?...

“So exactly why do you need those four days of leave?” Your supervisors may ask such questions, perhaps out of curiosity or because they’re the ones who must approve FMLA requests. But as this ruling shows, asking the wrong questions—and then divulging that confidential medical info—can quickly turn into a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ...

Do some of your employees’ spouses or children have serious (and expensive) health troubles? It may be tempting to offer suggestions about less-costly treatments—or even to send that employee packing. But don’t do it. As this new ruling shows, it’s illegal to discriminate against employees based on their relationship with a disabled person …

Sometimes, the simplest mistakes are the most expensive. When faced with the decision of firing an assembly-line worker or giving her a chair to ease her arthritis, this company took the litigious route—and paid the price …

Sometimes employees get frustrated. Sometimes they even act rudely. But a new ruling highlights a legal risk you may not have thought about: Employee’s rude treatment can quickly turn into an ADA lawsuit if the customer is disabled. A New York court last week called the problem a “failure to train” case ...

You’ve probably got an ADA policy that extends reasonable accommodations to any disabled workers. That’s good. But are your managers following through? If your paper policy is the only thing granting accommodations, a court could make you pay the price … big time. As in punitive damages...

You can’t expect employees to walk into HR and ask, “May I have a reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990? Oh, and don’t forget to engage me in the required interactive process!” As the following case shows, blowing off that interactive process could be seen by the courts as “bad faith,” which gives the employee a direct admission ticket to a jury trial ...

While the ADA requires companies to make job accommodations for disabled workers, you don’t have to employ anyone who can’t perform the “essential functions” of the job. And on-time attendance is an “essential function,” right? Not necessarily, as the following case shows ...

Terminations are a legal minefield, but you’d think it would be easy to fire a 911 emergency dispatcher who was found sleeping on the job. Not in today’s lawsuit-happy environment...