Law Office of Arkady Itkin / Tel. 916-720-0100 / e-mail: arkady@arkadylaw.com
As expansive as disability rights of California workers are, the right of qualifying disabled employees of California State agencies are even more broad that those of private sector employees. This is illustrated by the precedent decision of the State Personnel Board No. 00-07. In that case, the Board considered whether the employee of the DMV Read More …
Telecommuting or working from home can often be an effective, reasonable accommodation to an employee with a particular disability or medical condition, especially in cases where the commute itself is challenging because of an injury (i.e. serious back injury, foot injury etc…) and where work tasks can be effective accomplished without being in office, or Read More …
The Ninth Circuit case McAlindin v. County of San Diego is a case of great help to those employees who have been diagnosed with and suffering from anxiety disorder or panic disorder. In that case, the employer first argued that the employee’s condition wasn’t a protected disability within ADA because it didn’t substantially limited that Read More …
California law expressly states that HIV/AIDS is a physical disability, even if it doesn’t have a present disabling effect. Likewise, California has long recognized that FEHA (Fair Employment and Housing Act) protects employees against discrimination on the basis of physical disability, such as high blood pressure or a heart condition, “that may handicap in the Read More …
In Rohr v Salt River Project Agric. Improvement & Power Dist (2009) the Court of Appeal held that diabetes is a qualifying disability under ADA. In that case, the claimant – a welding specialist – had an insulin dependency due to his serious diabetes. His doctors made a number of accommodations recommendation to his employer Read More …
The EEOC has declared that the responsibility to initiate the interactive process of figuring out the appropriate ADA accommodation for an employee with a disability lies primarily with an employee. “If an employee with a known disability has a difficulty performing his or her job, an employer may inquire whether the employee is in need Read More …
It is common for employers to have fixed, rigid leave policies that apply to all employees equally without exceptions. For example, an employer policy may provide that an employee may take up to 180 days or 1 year leave of leave. At the end of that period, the employee is terminated if he doesn’t return Read More …
It is very important that the medical note that you provide to your employer to substantiate your medical / disability leave is sufficient and properly written. Don’t expect your doctor to know how the note should be written from a legal standpoint and make sure that you keep the following five basic tips in mind Read More …
One of the reasons that an employer can legally deny a particular reasonable accommodation to an employee under ADA / FEHA is if providing that accommodation imposes an “undue hardship” on the employer’s operations. However, many employers misunderstand this legal term. They think that they simply can say that because it’s too hard or too Read More …
Plaintiff Joseph Snead worked as a custodian for the Chino Valley Unified School District for 16 years at an elementary school. In 2010, he sustained a back injury which prevented him from using ladders at work. He claimed that the use of the ladder was very rare and requested various accommodations for his back injury. Read More …