This workbook will cover the full range of issues and obligations faced by employers when dealing with disabled employees.

Topics Include:

• The ADA, the Federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the California Fair Employment and Housing Act
  • The ADA
  • The Rehabilitation Act
  • The California Fair Employment and Housing Act
  • Enforcement
• Who is Covered by Disability Laws?
  • The ADA
  • The FEHA
  • Individual Liability
• What Discrimination is Prohibited?
  • Overview of the ADA
  • The FEHA
• What is a Disability Under the ADA?
  • Physical or Mental Impairment Which Substantially Limits One or More Major Life Activities
  • Record of Substantially Limiting Condition
  • Regarded as Substantially Limited in a Major Life Activity
  • Conditions or Impairments Excluded by the ADA
  • Relationship or Association with an Individual with a Disability
• What is a Disability Under FEHA?
  • Physical Disabilities Covered by FEHA
  • Limits on One or More Major Life Activities under FEHA
  • Types of Major Life Activities under FEHA
  • Working as a Major Life Activity
  • Being Regarded as Disabled
  • Mitigating Measures Not Considered
  • Past Disabilities and Potential Future Impairments
  • Obesity as a Physical Disability
  • Chronic or Episodic Ailments are Disabilities
  • Other Conditions Excluded
  • Temporary Disabilities under the FEHA
• Mental Disabilities
  • Mental Impairments Under the ADA
  • Mental Disabilities Covered by The FEHA
• Medical Condition Under The FEHA
  • Cancer-Related Condition
  • Genetic Characteristics
  • Testing for Genetic Characteristics
  • Medical Conditions Related to Pregnancy
• Who is a Qualified Individual with a Disability Under the ADA and the FEHA?
  • Qualified Individual
  • Essential Functions of the Position
  • Case Examples That Analyze Essential Functions and Reasonable Accommodation
• Acquiring Information About Applicant/Employee Medical Conditions and Impairments—The Do’s and Don’ts
  • The Hiring Process—What You Can and Can’t Ask Job Applicants
  • What is a Conditional Offer of Employment?
  • Pre-Offer Inquiries and Examinations—What You Can Ask before Making a Conditional Offer of Employment
  • Physical Agility/Fitness Testing
  • Drug and Alcohol Testing
  • Some Don’ts
  • What is a Medical Exam?
  • Psychological Testing
  • Genetic Information under State and Federal Law
  • How to Handle the Obviously Disabled Applicant
  • Post-Offer Inquiries
  • Some Acceptable Medical Inquiries
• Fitness for Duty Exams
  • When is a Fitness for Duty Examination Allowed?
  • What Information is an Employer Entitled to Receive Following a Fitness for Duty Examination?
• Reasonable Accommodation
  • Reasonable Accommodation Applies Only to Known Disabilities
  • Standards for a Reasonable Accommodation
  • What Types of Accommodations are Reasonable?
• The Interactive Process/Due Process
  • The Steps of the Interactive Process
  • EEOC Interactive Process Guidelines
  • Documentation and Follow up
  • Due Process Considerations (What if the Interactive Process Yields No Reasonable Accommodation?)
• Collective Bargaining and the FEHA/ADA
• Coordination of the FEHA/ADA and the Family and Medical Care Leave Act
  • Keeping Track of Family and Medical Care Leave
  • Coverage is Different under FEHA/ADA and FMLA/CFRA
  • How Does the Department of Labor Resolve the Interaction?
  • Family Care and Medical Leave under CFRA
  • Coordination of Pregnancy Disability Leave under FEHA, FMLA & CFRA
• Workers’ Compensation and the FEHA/ADA—Dealing with the Interactions Between the Laws
  • Overview of Legal Obligations
  • Is a Worker Injured on the Job Protected by the ADA or the FEHA?
  • Managing Workers’ Compensation Claims with the FEHA/ADA Interactive Process
  • What Can Employers Do to Avoid Increased Workers’ Compensation Costs and Comply with the FEHA/ADA?
  • What Can an Employer Do When a Worker is Injured on the Job?
  • Does Filing a Workers’ Compensation Claim Prevent an Injured Worker from Filing a Charge under the FEHA/ADA?
  • FEHA and Workers’ Compensation Remedies
• Disability Retirement
  • Introduction
  • Eligibility
  • When is an Employer Required to File an Application?
  • Who May File an Application?
  • Deadlines for Filing Application
  • Who Decides Whether to Grant or Deny the Application?
  • What Information is Relied on in Making the Determination?
  • Appealing the Determination
  • Employee Status during Disability Retirement Process
  • Labor Code § 4850 Issues
• Defenses of Business Necessity and Undue Hardship
  • Direct Threat to Health and Safety – ADA/FEHA
  • How to Determine if There is a Threat
  • Health and Safety Defense under the FEHA
  • Undue Hardship Defense – ADA/FEHA
  • Business Realities Defense – Workers’ Compensation
• Remedies Available Under Disability Discrimination Laws
  • Title I of the ADA
  • Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973
  • The FEHA