FMLA & ADA
Understanding FMLA and ADA can help you understand your rights as an employee and as an employer. For companies, these Federal Acts help you protect not only your employees, but also the company.
What is FMLA?
Family and Medical Leave Act entitles eligible employees to take unpaid, job-protected leave for specified family and medical reasons. FMLA can cover up to 12 weeks of time away from work (or more if required). If you have enrolled in health insurance with your company, the insurance premiums can still continue to be covered also while you are away from work.
Eligible employees are entitled to: *Please note, there is NO Federal policy that requires employers to offer paid leave for any time away from work.
Twelve workweeks of leave in a 12-month period for:
the birth of a child and to care for the newborn child within one year of birth; **paternity leave may be subject to shorter leave periods
the placement with the employee of a child for adoption or foster care and to care for the newly placed child within one year of placement;
to care for the employee’s spouse, child, or parent who has a serious health condition;
a serious health condition that makes the employee unable to perform the essential functions of his or her job;
any qualifying exigency arising out of the fact that the employee’s spouse, son, daughter, or parent is a covered military member on “covered active duty;” or
Twenty-six work weeks of leave during a single 12-month period to care for a covered servicemember with a serious injury or illness if the eligible employee is the servicemember’s spouse, son, daughter, parent, or next of kin (military caregiver leave).
For general guidance about FMLA including Nursing Mothers, Military Requirements, and other Q&A, SEE HERE.
What is ADA?
Americans with Disabilities Act protects people with disabilities from discrimination.
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a federal civil rights law that prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in everyday activities. The ADA prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability just as other civil rights laws prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, national origin, age, and religion. The ADA guarantees that people with disabilities have the same opportunities as everyone else to enjoy employment opportunities, purchase goods and services, and participate in state and local government programs.
A person with a disability is someone who:
has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities,
has a history or record of such an impairment (such as cancer that is in remission), or
is perceived by others as having such an impairment (such as a person who has scars from a severe burn).
If a person falls into any of these categories, the ADA protects them. Because the ADA is a law, and not a benefit program, you do not need to apply for coverage.
The term “substantially limits” is interpreted broadly and is not meant to be a demanding standard. But not every condition will meet this standard.
Major life activities are the kind of activities that you do every day, including your body’s own internal processes. There are many major life activities in addition to the examples listed here. Some examples include:
Actions like eating, sleeping, speaking, and breathing
Movements like walking, standing, lifting, and bending
Cognitive functions like thinking and concentrating
Sensory functions like seeing and hearing
Tasks like working, reading, learning, and communicating
The operation of major bodily functions like circulation, reproduction, and individual organs
Examples of Disabilities
There is a wide variety of disabilities, and the ADA regulations do not list all of them. Some disabilities are visible and some are not. Some examples of disabilities include:
Cancer
Diabetes
Post-traumatic stress disorder
HIV
Autism
Cerebral palsy
Deafness or hearing loss
Blindness or low vision
Epilepsy
Mobility disabilities such as those requiring the use of a wheelchair, walker, or cane
Intellectual disabilities
Major depressive disorder
Traumatic brain injury
The ADA covers many other disabilities not listed above.
To prevent discrimination against people with disabilities, the ADA sets out requirements that apply to many of the situations you encounter in everyday life. Employers, state and local governments, businesses that are open to the public, commercial facilities, transportation providers, and telecommunication companies all have to follow the requirements of the ADA.
Under the ADA, it is illegal to discriminate against someone because of their disability.
For example, a fitness center could not exclude a person who uses a wheelchair from a workout class because they cannot do all of the exercises in the same way.
However, a local rec center might only be open to people who live in the surrounding zip code. If the rec center refused access to a person with epilepsy because that person lived in a different zip code, that would not be a violation of the ADA because the rec center would not be discriminating on the basis of the person’s disability.
In regards to Employment
Section of the ADA: Title I
Applies to: employers that have 15 or more employees, including state/local governments, employment agencies, and labor unions.
General requirement: Employers must provide people with disabilities an equal opportunity to benefit from the employment-related opportunities available to others. This includes things like recruitment, hiring, promotions, training, pay, and social activities.
The ADA includes specific requirements for employers to ensure that people with disabilities have equal access to employment. For more information about ADA and your rights, SEE HERE.
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR EMPLOYERS?
When an employee request ADA, gather all the necessary documents and stay interactive with employee to determine the best accommodation for the employee.
In some cases, accommodation for ADA cannot be met because of Undue Hardships for the Business.
“Undue Hardship” means significant difficulty or expense and is measured on a case-by-case basis.
Includes financial difficulty, accommodations that are unduly extensive, substantial, or disruptive, or those that would fundamentally alter the nature or operation of the business. EMPLOYERS MUST PROVE UNDUE HARDSHIP.
Reasonable Accommodations for ADA may include
Teleworking;
Making existing facilities accessible;
Job restructuring;
Part-time or modified work schedules;
Acquiring or modifying equipment;
Changing tests, training materials, or policies;
Providing qualified readers or interpreters; and
Reassignment to a vacant position
NON-Reasonable Accommodations
Eliminating an essential function/duty of the position
Lowering production standards
*Again, Employers MUST prove Undue hardship if the accommodations negatively impact the company’s productivity and business agreements with clients or vendors.
