Administering leave in cases involving disability is one of the more challenging issues that HR pros face.
And when employees go on leave without giving their employer a clue as to when they will be back, things become particularly difficult.
The good news: While the law generally obligates employers to grant leave as an accommodation, open-ended leave is not something they need to tolerate.
A recent case out of Missouri aptly demonstrates the point.
In 2017, at the age of 61, Colleen Johnson was hired to lead the oncology department at the Belton Regional Medical Center in Missouri.
Three months later, a new chief operating officer named Patrick Avila became her direct supervisor.
The two apparently did not get along well. Avila presented Johnson with a coaching document, after which Johnson went to HR to say Avila was creating a toxic work environment by bullying employees.
Soon after that, Avila issued Johnson a disciplinary warning and a performance improvement plan. A final disciplinary warning followed just days later.
Within five days after the final warning was issued, Johnson requested short-term disability leave. The medical center approved the request, and someone else began doing her job.
While she was on leave, Johnson identified others who she said had voiced concerns about Avila.
When Johnson’s leave stretched to nine months, the employer’s vice president of HR asked Johnson when she might be able to return to...
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