Disability Employment and Work Leave

Organizations do not hire individuals because of what they cannot do.  Instead, individuals are hired for their skills, potential, and character.  Disability employers know this first hand, hiring individuals because of their abilities rather than their disabilities.  These employers see the value of diversity, recognizing that a richly varied group of individuals contributes more to production and innovation than does a homogeneous group.  These workplaces build strong foundations for success through ongoing disability education for employees, managers, and other business leaders.

Diverse workplaces must also accommodate workers with disabilities, providing work leave for qualified individuals.  According to the U.S. Department of Labor, individuals who become injured, disabled, or ill during their usual scope of employment may be entitled to disability work leave.  Entitlement depends on the circumstances under which the worker suffers injury or illness.  Moreover, claims are guided by two main Federal laws:  the Americans with Disability Act and the Family and Medical Leave Act.

Americans with Disability Act

The Americans with Disability Act prohibits employers from discriminating against those with disabilities in all employment-related activities including recruitment, advancement, pay adjustments, and benefits (i).  The ADA does not specifically require employers to provide medical or disability leave.  Rather, employers are required to make reasonable accommodations for workers with disabilities, if those accommodations are necessary to perform their job.  Here, disability leave may constitute an accommodation necessary for a worker with a disability to perform their job.  A typical example includes the modification of a work schedule to accommodate the rehabilitation of an injured employee.

Family and Medical Leave Act

The Family and Medical Leave Act is a Federal piece of legislation designed to assist workers in maintaining both workplace and domestic responsibilities.  Covered individuals may take a leave of up to 12 weeks without pay for serious health conditions (ii).  The scope of the term serious health conditions is broad and includes pregnancy, illness, impairments, and physical or mental conditions that require multiple absences.

Other state-level laws and provisions also come into play when employees seek disability leave.  Businesses must remain compliant with all applicable laws on both the state and Federal level.  Disability resources are the best solution for managing such compliance issues, providing information about state laws, Federal legislation, and the overlapping of the two.  Such resources develop employer relations and aid in creating reasonable and lawful business policies.

(i)  http://www.dol.gov/odep/pubs/fact/employ.htm

(ii)  See above.