Advertisement
Leave as an ADA Accommodation: When Is Enough, Enough?
Get articles like this
in your inbox
The longest running and most trusted source of information serving talent acquisition professionals.
Advertisement
Related Articles
By Eric B. Meyer
Unquestionably, when it come to tackling the Americans with Disabilities Act, one of the biggest issues affecting the workplace and accommodating disabled employees is providing leave as a reasonable accommodation. And, a question that plagues most employers is just how much leave is enough?
We know that an indefinite leave of absence is not a reasonable accommodation. But, what about when an employee takes one leave, after another, after another.
The Eleventh U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta offered some guidance recently in Santandreu v. Miami Dade County. When an employee is uncertain about the duration of his condition, a leave of absence is not a reasonable accommodation:
In the instant case, Santandreu never demonstrated that he would be able to return to work within a reasonable time. Santandreu had already taken several leaves of absence, received a total of 15 months of leave, and still had no way of knowing when his doctor would allow him to resume full-time work.
Even at the time of trial, Santandreu and his doctors attested that he still had not received medical clearance showing that he was able to work. Because Santandreu was unable to show that he would be able to perform the essential functions of the job anytime in the reasonably immediate future, his request for additional leave was not a request for a reasonable accommodation.”
This case is helpful — to a point.
Most employers faced with leave requests (as an ADA accommodation) are given an initial date certain (or estimated date) for the employee to return. There are times when that date will need to be pushed back. In Santandreau, enough was enough after about 17 months and four requests for extensions.
Depending on the resources of your business, maybe the line could have been drawn sooner. Or maybe more leave would have been reasonable. What I’m saying is, Santandreau notwithstanding, there is no bright-line rule on time off. Except that:
Instead, focus on open communication and good documentation. These are the hallmarks of reasonableness that a jury will understand if your ADA defenses are tested.
More importantly, these are the attributes of good companies that will, hopefully, avoid lawsuits altogether and promote a happy workplace.
This was originally published on Eric B. Meyer’s blog, The Employer Handbook.