Today’s blog entry returns us back to the world of employment law. One of the things that drives me crazy is that people, including judges, sometimes forget whether a person is qualified to do a particular job means assessing whether the individual can perform the essential functions of the job WITH or without reasonable accommodations.
otherwise qualified
Distilling Essential Functions of the Job to its Basics
In all the years I have been blogging, the number of times I have blogged more than once a week is about three I believe. So, why am I making an exception now? Well, my next few weeks are going to be really weird. My daughter comes home from camp on Monday after four weeks.…
Regarded As: What Not to Do
Hope everyone had a great Mother’s Day.
Today’s blog entry is a case that I’ve had in my pipeline for quite a long time. I actually know the plaintiff’s attorney on the case, Cheryl Lagare of Lagare, Attwood & Wolfe. We have spoken a few times, and she is a fabulous CLE speaker. When this…
Interaction Between FMLA and ADA: A Whole Lot Going on
The best weekend in sports is no doubt the first and second round of the NCAA basketball tournament. I hope your bracket survived. The UMBC VA game was amazing (even my 14-year-old daughter was into it), and there were plenty of other upsets along the way as well. I am in two pools (brother and…
ADA and the High School Athletic Association
Before starting the blog for this week, a couple of preliminary matters. First, about a month ago, I hit 300 blog posts. I simply could not do it without the loyal readership of the people here. Thank you! Also, my last blog entry dealing with animals on planes really took off. The Texas Bar informed…
ABA 100 and Fundamental Alteration Defense in Academia
I hope everyone had a happy Thanksgiving.
Before getting started on our blog of the week, I first want to pass on some great news about the blog. Thanks to our very generous readers, my blog made the ABA 100 once again. It is the fourth year in a row for us. I simply could…
ADA and Reasonable Accommodations: The HR (Title I) Version

A few weeks back, I attended a chat seminar put on by the Society for Human Resources Management on reasonable accommodations and the ADA. What happens in that kind of seminar is that people write in their questions online and then knowledge advisors respond. The knowledge advisors are very…
Extended Leave as a Reasonable Accommodation: The Seventh Circuit View
Today’s case is Severson v. Heartland Woodcraft, Inc., a case from the Seventh Circuit decided September 20, 2017. The blogosphere has lit up with it, and I thought I could add my own spin to it even though several bloggers have done a real nice job talking about it. As is usual, the case…
Refusing to Take Funds for Discriminatory Reasons as a Violation of the ADA
Today’s case, Aguirre v. California School of Court Reporting-Riverside, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 167980 (C.D. Cal. December 2, 2016), comes from a publication that I subscribe to call Disability Compliance for Higher Education. It is an excellent publication geared towards the professionals that serve people with disabilities in higher education. It also will…
Just What Does Qualified/Otherwise Qualified Mean Anyway?
Today‘s blog entry comes from the Sixth Circuit and it reminds us of the following: 1) job descriptions must be kept current; 2) essential functions of the job must reflect the reality of how the job is performed; 3) whether a person is a qualified person with a disability under the ADA depends upon whether…