I’d much rather write about a legal topic than a personal one, but before I talk about the logistics of handling an employee who has exhausted their paid time off, I wanted to share a brief personal update.
Last November, I shared with you my wife’s diagnosis and treatment for cancer. Because she is
Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend.
Last week, I shared my family’s personal story about how cancer has impacted us. With that in mind, I thought I would share a few tips for employers. Even if you don’t presently have an issue with an employee, it’s worth familiarizing yourself with some of the rules of the road.
First off, to no one’s surprise, cancer is very likely a “disability” under the ADA. Even if an employee is in remission from cancer, they can still fall within the statute’s protections as having a “record of” a disability (cancer).
It is so common, that the EEOC has released set of questions and answers to address cancer-related employment issues. It’s a good starting point for employers when facing these issues.
The ADA strictly limits the circumstances under which an employer may ask questions about an employee’s medical condition or require the employee to have a medical examination. Once an employee is on the job, his actual performance is the best measure of ability to do the job.
One question that the EEOC addresses, for example, is “When may an employer ask an employee if cancer, or some other medical condition, may be causing her performance problems?”
The EEOC does not bar such questions in their entirety. Indeed:
Generally, an employer may ask disability-related questions or require an employee to have a medical examination when it knows about a particular employee’s medical condition, has observed performance problems, and reasonably believes that the problems are related to a medical condition. At other times, an employer may ask for medical information when it has observed symptoms, such as extreme fatigue or irritability, or has received reliable information from someone else (for example, a family member or co-worker) indicating that the employee may have a medical condition that is causing performance problems. Often, however, poor job performance is unrelated to a medical condition and generally should be handled in accordance with an employer’s existing policies concerning performance.
Continue Reading Cancer and the Workplace: Tips for Employers
The moment when you learn your wife has cancer gets imprinted on your brain in a hurry.
At least for me, it did.
That happened back in February of this year. I haven’t talked about it on the blog yet for several reasons including that my wife is much more private online than I am.
It’s been nearly two months since Connecticut’s “medical marijuana” law became effective. Yet many employers have been blissfully ignorant about what the law provides, perhaps because Connecticut does not yet have a home-grown supply of marijuana and the registration process is just beginning.
But because of the law’s appeal, I would expect the impact
It’s the stuff of television shows.
In the middle of trial, a plaintiff (who is claiming his employment was terminated, among other reasons, in retaliation of his exercise of FMLA rights) drops a bombshell:
[In the prior October], I learned that I had — have stage III prostate cancer with a metastatic brain lesion."
While