On May 9, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued new guidance for employers that addresses the rights of employees with disabilities who seek leave as a reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA). The document, Employer-Provided Leave and the Americans with Disabilities Act, responds to common questions employers and employees have raised about leave requests that concern an employee’s disability.
The EEOC explains that the release of the document does not create new agency policy since regulations already provide that reasonable accommodations may include leave, potentially including unpaid leave that exceeds a company’s normal leave allowances. Instead, the resource is intended to help educate employers and employees about workplace leave under the ADA to prevent discriminatory denials of leave from occurring by consolidating existing guidance on ADA and leave into one place, addressing issues that arise frequently regarding leave as a reasonable accommodation, including the interactive process, maximum leave policies, “100 percent healed” policies, and reassignment.
Employer undue hardship is also addressed, including issues related to the amount and/or length of leave required, the frequency of leave, the predictability of intermittent leave, and the impact on the employer’s operations and its ability to serve customers and clients in a timely manner.
For more information on the EEOC and the ADA, visit the EEOC’s website and AGC’s Labor and HR Topical Resources webpage. On the AGC website, first login as an AGC member to access all resources, then select the primary category “EEO” and the secondary category “Americans with Disabilities” Act.