EEOC: Maximum Leave Policies May Violate ADA

Employees who are disabled under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and who were automatically terminated from their job based on their employer's "Maximum Leave Policy" may have legal recourse.

ADA Leave Requirements

Under the ADA, a federal statute, employers must consider whether employees who have a disability qualify for a job accommodation, so that they can remain at work, even if the employer has to find a position for them that they can perform with their disability. Employers cannot simply apply a Maximum Leave Policy and terminate their employees if they have been out on disability leave for a certain amount of time. If the employee needs additional disability leave and granting the leave would not cause an undue hardship on the employer, or if there is an effective accommodation that could be provided so the employee could continue working, the employer must undertake these steps or face legal consequences.

If you are a disabled employee who was fired after your employer imposed a Maximum Leave Policy, you may be able to file a claim to regain your job and obtain compensation for other losses.

EEOC on Maximum Leave Policies

It has been reported that the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) believes that employers who impose a Maximum Leave Policy on their employees, with no exceptions, may be in violation of the ADA. The EEOC is aggressively targeting employers with Maximum Leave Policies, and has reached large settlements with major employers in these types of lawsuits.

ADA Lawsuits Over Leave, Failure to Make Reasonable Accommodations

A number of major companies have been hit with lawsuits regarding disabled employees and Maximum Leave Policies. On December 18, 2012, the EEOC announced a $2 million settlement of a class action disability discrimination lawsuit against Dillard's Department Stores. The class action lawsuit claimed that Dillard's longstanding policy of requiring employees to disclose the exact nature of their medical conditions to be approved for sick leave, as well as its enforcement of a Maximum Leave Policy limiting the amount of health-related leave an employee could take, violated the ADA. On November 9, 2012, the EEOC announced a $4.85 million settlement with Interstate Distributor Company, based on allegations that the nationwide trucking firm unlawfully denied reasonable accommodations to hundreds of workers and terminated them under Interstate's Maximum Leave Policy.

Similarly, the EEOC also reached a settlement with Sears Roebuck & Company, in which Sears agreed to pay $6.2 million in connection with its policy of terminating employees who could not return to work after a full year of disability leave.

Have You Been Discriminated Against?

If you believe that you have been discriminated against because you were terminated or fired from your job based on your employer's Maximum Leave Policy, you may be able to file a claim to recover your job, and all related losses.

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