September 2018
Americans with Disabilities Act
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 and the ADA Amendments Act (ADAAA) of 2008 established a new work environment, enabling more persons with disabilities to participate in the workforce. These laws also created compliance challenges that employers are still grappling with today. In this issue, we explore best practices that limit risk in your organization and help you successfully manage your ADA and ADAAA requirements.
Features
2017 Leave Management Survey: Responses to Expanding Mandates
The 2017 DMEC Employer Leave Management Survey outlines the employer response to new compliance mandates, as well as the ever-expanding scope of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the federal Family and Medical Leave Act. Read more.
Filling in the Gaps with Leave Management Technology
The ADAAA field is changing quickly; even experienced professionals may need assistance to manage compliance. Technology does not eliminate human error, but it can erect barriers to our impulses to jump to the first “right thing.” Read more.
Spotlight Articles
Program Showcase: Job Descriptions
Some employers may lack specific job information to determine if an accommodation can be made, if it is appropriate for the worker, and if it’s reasonable for the business. These gaps can create significant challenges or cause delays in making sound ADA accommodation decisions. Read more.
RTW Case Study: Interaction with the ADAAA
Employers can better meet their ADAAA obligations by working to create a proactive program that treats the whole person and tailors a plan to support their unique needs. Here are a few considerations to keep in mind when implementing a program. Read more.
Columns
Work/Life Squeeze: Federal and State Pregnancy Protections
Your pregnant employees face significant caregiver demands that can affect their engagement at work. They also enjoy substantial federal and state caregiver protections, including on-the-job accommodations, leave of absence, and nondiscrimination. Read more.
Integrated Absence Management: The ADA and RTW
The ADAAA broadened the definition of disability, so it now covers many persons who have health problems that in some way limit their work ability. Instead of trying to figure out whether an employee who is returning from leave is covered, employers are advised rather to focus on identifying accommodations to support the RTW process. Read more.
Absence Matters: Managing an Aging Workforce
Advances in public health and medicine are enabling Americans to live and work longer, resulting in an unprecedented transformation of the workplace. What does this mean for businesses, and how is this trend impacting management strategies for employers? Read more.
Engaging Today’s Workforce: Paid Family Leave
While a handful of states now mandate paid leave, many employers also offer paid family leave to compete in today’s hot job market. For all employers, it is a business imperative to marry the benefit with a strong support strategy for employees taking and returning from a leave. Read more.
The Disabled Workforce: When Disability and Discipline Meet
When employees link performance issues to a claimed disability whether at the start of the discipline process or in the eleventh hour, employers are triggered to start the disability interactive process. Read more.
Accommodations Best Practice Guide: What Is Reasonable?
When employers consider accommodations for disabled employees, their first question is usually “what is and what is not a ‘reasonable accommodation,’ and who gets to decide?” This is first and foremost a case-by-case process. Read more.
Riding the Demographic Wave: Millennials and Mental Health
Much attention has been paid to the recruitment and retention of Millennials, but employers are increasingly exploring strategies to help this key population deal with a major challenge: mental health. Read more.
6 Pillars of Leave Management: ADA Interactive Process
Each ADAAA case must be assessed individually, yet managed equitably. This entails developing a best-practice workflow to guide you through the interactive accommodation process; this process provides the consistency to be equitable and flexible. Read more.
Aligning Workers' Compensation: Coordinating ADAAA Compliance
The ADAAA applies equally to all return-to-work and related workplace accommodation activities, regardless of whether the underlying disabling event is work-related or not. This is still news in many places. Read more.
Departments
The CEO's Desk: Respond, Interact, Manage & Document
The ADA has been in existence for more than 25 years, and we’ve evolved our programs to meet changing requirements. But perhaps we all need to take a step back and be reminded of the fundamentals when it comes to ADA accommodation requests. It boils down to four steps: respond, interact, manage, and document. Read more.
DMEC News: September 2018
This issue of DMEC News recaps the 2018 DMEC Annual Conference and highlights the new toolbox that integrated absence management professionals are using to design programs for today’s more diverse workplace. Read more.
Compliance Memos: September 2018
The September 2018 compliance memos cover paid sick leave law conflicts, Massachusetts' new paid family leave law, and updates for employers on selecting reasonable accommodations. Read more.
