Common Sense Compliance: Avoiding ADA Liability and Lawsuits

Jai Hooker@Work

Tips to Avoid ADA Liability and Lawsuits

By Marjory Robertson, AVP and Senior Counsel, Sun Life; Abigail O’Connell, Senior Counsel, Sun Life

Employers often underestimate the risk of noncompliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Yet the most substantial verdicts are awarded in cases with ADA violations.

Under the ADA, employees can recover damages for emotional distress caused by an employer’s failure to comply with the law. It is not unusual for these awards to be hundreds of thousands of dollars. Additionally, juries can award punitive damages if they believe an employer acted with reckless disregard of an employee’s rights.

Complying with the ADA is challenging. The law does not have as many bright-line tests for compliance as the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). It expressly requires an individualized analysis of each employee’s accommodation requests. Ultimately, employers will be judged as to whether they acted reasonably. And, in many cases, jurors empathize more with employees than they do with employers, which can lead to very large damage awards. Here are suggestions to avoid lawsuits under the ADA and if a lawsuit occurs, help ensure you are not liable.

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