The absence management world has been abuzz lately due to the release by the EEOC of a new resource document, Employer-Provided Leave and the Americans with Disabilities Act. I wrote about this document and the latest EEOC consent decree – $8.6 million against Lowe’s due to its maximum leave policies – here and here.

Now, in an industry coup, my friend and fellow blogger Jeff Nowak will present a webinar on the new EEOC resource and leave as an ADA accommodation together with guest star, EEOC Commissioner Chai Feldblum. For those of you who haven’t had the experience of hearing Commissioner Feldblum speak, you are in for a treat. She is extremely knowledgeable, frank, and outspoken. Jeff invites us to send our toughest ADA leave accommodation questions for the Commissioner to him at jsn@franczek.com.

Visit Jeff at FMLA Insights to learn more about the webinar and register, or you can register through the link below.

When: Thursday, June 23, 2016 (12:30 – 1:45 p.m. CDT)Online registration: Click here.

You’re toast! And if you still aren’t taking this issue seriously, let me tell a little story from the recent Disability Management Employer Coalition compliance conference held in April. One speaker was Sharon Rennert, Senior Attorney Advisor on ADA policy for the EEOC. An attendee asked Ms. Rennert a question about his company’s maximum leave policy that was based on exhaustion of 12 weeks of FMLA leave. An employee needed only a few additional days of leave but the company did not want to make an exception to its policy. Ms. Rennert stopped his question by saying, “You’re toast!” The poor guy tried to continue his question and to justify his company’s policy but again got the response from Ms. Rennert, “You’re toast!” Now, she wasn’t being rude, but was simply trying to make it ever-so-clear that an employer’s application of an automatic cap on leave without engaging in an individualized assessment of the employee’s situation may violate the ADA, because it does not allow for consideration of more leave or some other accommodation(s) to enable the employee to perform his essential functions. So, attend and learn from Jeff’s webinar, and don’t be toast!

MATRIX CAN HELP! Matrix’s ADA Advantage leave management system and our dedicated ADA accommodation team helps employers maneuver through the accommodation process. We will initiate an ADA claim for your employee, conduct the medical intake and analysis if needed, manage the interactive process, assist in identifying reasonable accommodations, document the process, and more. Contact Matrix at 1-800-866-2301 to learn more about these services.