Posts tagged 'ADA'

August 29, 2012
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EEOC to Explain ADAAA on Cross-Country Tour

Two Commissioners of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) will go on a cross-country tour in September to explain and discuss the landmark Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act (ADAAA). The series of training seminars is aimed at employment law practitioners, human resource and equal employment opportunity/diversity specialists, and managers dealing with issues of reasona...
August 1, 2011
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Genetic Information and Company Wellness Programs

The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) prohibits the gathering of genetic information from employees or new hires unless such information  is deemed "job-related and consistent with business necessity." Another exception pertains to voluntary wellness programs, with the stipulation that the information obtained is kept confidential and not used in a manner that viol...
July 26, 2011
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EEOC Advises Employers to Separate PHI from Occupational Health Information

In a recent informal discussion letter, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) suggested that employers who maintain both personal health information (PHI) and occupational health information in a single employee file are probably violating the privacy provisions of both the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA). Both acts sev...
July 26, 2011
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ADA Marks 21 Years of Disability Inclusion

On Tuesday, July 26, 2011, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) celebrates its 21st anniversary, having been signed into law on this same day in 1990 by President George H.W. Bush. Ironically, after erosion of some categories of protection in the landmark legislation, President George W. Bush, the former president's son, signed into law the ADA Amendments Act (ADAAA) in 2008, giving th...
July 6, 2011
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Huge Verizon Settlement Shows Danger of Inflexible Leave-Absense Policies

In June the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) held hearings on leave as a reasonable accommodation for employees with disabilities, warning that inflexible company policies would incur EEOC legal wrath, and today that warning turned into reality as Verizon was forced to accept a $20-million settlement of a lawsuit over its hard-core absence policy. The consent decree settling the s...
May 9, 2011
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EEOC Restricts Release of Employee Medical Information to Courts

Both the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 and the Rehabilitation Act of 1974 contain privacy protection for employees and their company-retained medical records, but a narrow exception in these acts allows for the release of such information if requested by a court order. However, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) in a recent case has further narrowed that exemptio...
March 17, 2011
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OMB Approves ADAAA Final Regulations, Publication Next

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) reportedly has approved the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) proposed final regulations for the ADA Amendments Act (ADAAA). The EEOC, if this is the case, is free to publish the final regulations in the Federal Register and begin enforcing their provisions after a stated period of time. The ADAAA was written, passed and signed into law to ...
March 14, 2011
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ADA Design Standards to Change on March 15

The U.S. Department of Justice's amended Final Rule concerning the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) takes effect tomorrow, March 15, 2011, replacing the 1991 act's Standards for Accessible Design with a more vigorous 2010 set of standards. The 2010 Standards for Accessible Design provide new specifications for a wide range of architectural access features, including public stairwel...
October 12, 2010
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President Signs Accessibility Act

Congress has passed and the president signed legislation expanding on the rights of disabled persons to use, access and enjoy the benefits of modern technology on computers, smartphones, televisions and other communication devices. "The 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act will make it easier for people who are deaf, blind or live with a visual impairment to do what many...
September 23, 2010
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Court Rules That Cancer, Even in Remission, Represents a 'Disability'

In wake of the enactment of the Americans With Disabilities Amendments Act (ADAAA), with its broader and more vigorous definition of what constitutes a disability, the courts are now rendering decisions that reverse and/or contradict earlier decisions rendered pre-ADAAA. Case in point: In one of the first decisions to interpret the new Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act (ADAAA), the...