FMLA and ADA

bkailiuli

We have an employee that has had quite a lot of issues steming from a surgery she had last year. Her FMLA will be over the end of this month but she still isn't able to come back to work. She's had issues with extreme vertigo, which is a result of nerver damage from her surgery, and now is in the hospital again with a blood clot.

My question is whether or not ADA will come into play after her FMLA runs out. I'm not too familiar with ADA and want to make sure we do the right thing concering our employee. And, if her job is protected under ADA, are we responsible to keep her health insurance paid up if she can't afford it?

Thanks much for your help.

Beth

NaeNae55

ADA works differently than FMLA. You need to talk to the employee and find out when she expects to return. If you can accomodate her some way without causing too much hardship on the company, then you should do it. For instance, if she needs another 2 weeks and it is not a hardship, then you should keep her job open. If she needs 6 months and that is too much of a hardship, then you should let her go and suggest she reapply when she is able to work.

The health insurance requirement is for FMLA only, not the ADA. However, you should check your policies. If she is considered disabled, there might be another option for her.

Good luck!

Nae

bethk

Thanks Nae. Her doctor said she is expected to return the middle of July so it would only be another couple of weeks . I don't think it will be a hardship.

So, ADA would come in to play if she was disabled from the surgery Since she is not able to work at all it would still be just an FMLA issue, correct? I really need to take an ADA class.

NaeNae55

Nerve damage [I]sounds[/I] like an ADA issue, but since we are not doctors we cannot really make that call. Your best bet is to begin the interactive process and just ask her what it would take to get her back to work. If you can accomodate her, then doing so is your safest bet. After all, if accomodation works you don't have to know absolutely if she qualifies for the ADA. If you are in doubt about how ill she is or if you can accomodate her, then it is time to call your lawyer and get advice from him/her.

Good luck!

Nae

bethk

Thanks Nae. I'll do exactly that.

Sharon McKnight SPHR

BethK,

You mentioned that you wanted to take a class in your post so I thought I'd let you know that we have a few classes on ADA/FMLA coming up soon that might interest you:

06/15 [URL="http://store.hrhero.com/events/audio-conferences-webinars/ada-summit"]Employers' ADA Compliance Virtual Summit[/URL]
06/16 [URL="http://store.hrhero.com/events/audio-conferences-webinars/fmla-summit"]2011 FMLA Compliance Virtual Summit: Advanced Challenges and Solutions for Employers[/URL]
06/23 [URL="http://store.hrhero.com/events/audio-conferences-webinars/workplace-diabetes"]Accommodating Diabetic Employees: Legal and Medical Answers for HR[/URL]
06/29 [URL="http://store.hrhero.com/events/audio-conferences-webinars/employee-with-cancer"]Employees with Cancer: Responding to ADA, FMLA, Privacy & Policy Issues[/URL]
06/30 [URL="http://store.hrhero.com/events/audio-conferences-webinars/domestic-partner-rights"]FMLA’s New Domestic Partner Rights: What HR Needs to Know[/URL]
07/14 [URL="http://store.hrhero.com/events/audio-conferences-webinars/workplace-odors"]Odors and Allergies Under New ADA Regulations: How to Avoid Discrimination Claims[/URL]
07/19 [URL="http://store.hrhero.com/events/audio-conferences-webinars/pregnancy-discrimination"]Prevent Pregnancy Discrimination: HR's New ADAAA, PDA, and FMLA Road Map[/URL]
07/28 [URL="http://store.hrhero.com/events/audio-conferences-webinars/intermittent-leave"]Intermittent Leave's 10 Toughest: Overcoming FMLA Misuse, Certification, and Other Challenges[/URL]

To find out about all upcoming webinar/audio conferences, go to: [URL="http://store.hrhero.com/events/audio-conferences-webinars"]www.hrhero.com[/URL]

We also have master classes on FMLA scheduled for the Fall. To find out more about those, go [URL="http://store.hrhero.com/events/master-classes"]here on HRHero[/URL] as well.

Hope this helps.

Sharon

bethk

Thanks for the info Sharon. I'll definitetly take advantage of that.