Posts tagged Disability
Massachusetts Court Dismisses Disability Discrimination Claim Because Employee Failed to Properly Request Accommodation and Because Requested Schedule Change was Unreasonable

A recent Massachusetts court ruling provides guidance on whether an employer’s denial of a request for a schedule change as a reasonable accommodation violated the ADA and Massachusetts anti-discrimination laws.

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COVID-19 and Health-Related Absences: Know Your Rights Under Massachusetts Law

Massachusetts employees may be entitled to paid or unpaid medical leave or sick leave due to COVID-19 related quarantine, suspected illness or diagnosed illness, caring for a sick family member, or caring for a child at home due to COVID-19 related closures.

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Evidence Suggests Flo Partied While on Medical Leave -- Can We Fire Her?

Our Junior Associate, Flo, was caught possibly abusing medical leave. We walk you through Steffans Legal’s subsequent workplace investigation and decision making as to whether or not we could discipline or terminate her employment for the alleged abuse of medical leave.

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Your Employee Has Requested an Accommodation. Now What?

Yesterday, Flo came to our management team requesting a workplace accommodation for a recently diagnosed illness she is suffering from. Let’s walk through whether she is covered under any employment laws and if so what we should consider when deciding whether we can accommodate her request.

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Massachusetts Federal Court Issues Decision that Heavily Protects Massachusetts Disabled Employees

The Americans with Disabilities Act, as well as its Massachusetts state law equivalent, prohibit employers from discrimination against individuals with disabilities. Those laws, unlike other anti-discrimination laws, also require employers to provide disabled employees with reasonable accommodations so that they may perform their job duties.

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First Circuit Sides with Employer in Reasonable Accommodation Case

The First Circuit, in the case of Miceli v. JetBlue Airways Corp. et al. recently provided helpful guidance to employers and employees when it comes to one of the most difficult areas of employment law: leaves of absence resulting from mental impairments.

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Grand Bargain: Why is it Grand and What does it Mean?

By now, most of you have probably read about the bill signed into law by Governor Charlie Baker, colloquially referred to as the Grand Bargain. By any measure, this bill is surely “grand” in that it dramatically changes three important areas of employment law.

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Can Massachusetts Employers Require Flu Shots or Face Masks?

The workplace can be a breeding ground for flu-related illnesses. A 2018 survey estimated the cost to employers of the 2017-2018 flu season to be around $9.42 billion. Employees who come to work sick, get others sick. Sick employees are less productive employees. To address this, can an employer require employees to get flu shots? Not surprisingly, the answer is not simple.

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