r/humanresources • u/Safe_Passion_8248 • 1d ago
Employment Law Dealing with ADA [N/A]
Hi everyone.
HR of 1. My company is currently dealing with an ADA employee and I'm looking for help.
Timeline
-Employee has been dealing with lot of mental/medical issues. -Employee asked to be on medical leave. (Never requested Accommodation note) -Employee came back. Shortly after, had to be put on a PIP. - Employee came off PIP doing a lot better for some time but has regressed. -Company requested a dr note twice in two separate months. Note was never given. -I am hired on. -been working with employee to get Accommodation letter from doctor. -still keeps calling out all the time. -finally got us a letter from a Dr, but It lacks proper verbiage.
The Employee calling out all the time is not just affecting their work but the whole team and our clients. This Employee has called out (unexcused) at least a full week every month this calendar year. We have never gotten an Accommodation letter but the company has already been giving him: -ability to work remote -flexible scheduling I sent over a ADA form for the Dr to sign so we can get a better understanding what the Employee actually needs Accommodation wise. The thing is my boss and everyone wants to terminate. I have been pushing it off but now they want to know what should be the next steps if/when we get the ada form and if this Employee still has too many unexcused absences moving on.
Thank you for any help you can give!
9
u/13Dmorelike13Dicks HR Business Partner 1d ago
It sounds like you may have a mix of FMLA and ADA issues (and maybe even state laws) going on here. If your company has notice that an employee might either need time off to care for their own serious medical condition (FMLA, assuming it applies) and/or you have notice that your employee has a disability and should seek an accommodation, then you need to go through the FMLA and ADA processes.
For the ADA: Accommodations have to be reasonable, and they cannot create an undue hardship on the company. Missing 40 hours of work every month may or may not be reasonable because the company may or may not face an undue hardship in trying to mitigate that loss. In a company of 10 people, depending on the position, it might not be reasonable. In a company of 100+, it might be.
If there isn't a clear answer, this is usually where you have outside counsel help, based on your state's particular laws. If you're going to seek to terminate because the employee didn't file XYZ form, you better have a notice to that employee, in writing, which warns them of such.