Unable to do Job
pecohr
150 Posts
I need the benefit of your experience;
I have an ee that has a permanent restriction from her Doctor that makes her unable to do an essential job function (as stated in her job description). I do not have any other position to transfer her to within our organization. She doesn't meet the ADA criteria of a disability (substantially limiting major life activity). She has not filed for WC yet.
My question is do I need to find a spot for her when the only acceptable accomodation to her, and her Doctor, is to do a very limited portion of her job function?
I have an ee that has a permanent restriction from her Doctor that makes her unable to do an essential job function (as stated in her job description). I do not have any other position to transfer her to within our organization. She doesn't meet the ADA criteria of a disability (substantially limiting major life activity). She has not filed for WC yet.
My question is do I need to find a spot for her when the only acceptable accomodation to her, and her Doctor, is to do a very limited portion of her job function?
Comments
I would also not count out the ADA (how can you be 100% sure she is not disabled under the ADA -- unless you know there is a case on point). Check into whether there is any accomodation (short of eliminating the function) that will allow her to do the job.
Finally, check your organization to make sure that there are no other jobs available which she could do.
If you have a light duty policy, or have given light duty in the past, you need to consider it for her.
Good Luck.
Assuming she is ADA qualifed, a reasonable accommodation under ADA is a leave of absence that would allow an emplyee to return to work to perform the essential functions with or without further reasonable accommodation. Normally, such a leave would be one of the last accommodations to look at but it still needs to be looked at when all other possible accommodations won't work.
Whether or not in this partiuclar situation a leave beyond FMLA or even beyond the 6 months (3 FMLA and 3 non-FMLA) would be reasonable or if reasonable would not cause undue hardship, is difficult to say absent specific information about this situation. But the employer can't reject the concept out of hand unless the employee isn't qualified as ADA disabled.
Of course, the failure to provide information for the employer to make the assessment would normally render her an unqualified employee under ADA. But it is possible that the doctor may not know when she could return to work. The best thing to do is for the employer to contact the employee and her treating practictioner and put the questions (or similar questions) -- when can you return to work? If the employee/treating practitioner can't determine that now when can it be determined?
And then start from there. If they can't give an answers to those questions, then I'd say release without prejudice. If the answer to the last question is vague, I'd give it another 30 days and try again and then if vague or no answer, terminate.
If an answer is given establishing a date of return or one identifes a date that a final determination can be made, the employer would, of course, then have to determine whether further leave would be reasonable (assuming longer than 30 days).
I have looked hard at the ADA guidelines and believe that I've addressed them appropriately. case in point: this individual is an assembler, she is unable to do one part of her essential job function, i.e. calibrate the unit/s she assembles. All other assemblers at our company are required and able to do this function and ropping this function would significantly change the job.
I'll look at the light duty issue.
thanks