As sticky wickets go, one of the messiest and most complicated laws employers must contend with in navigating their relationship with employees is the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”). The employer’s need to obtain information necessary to ensure a safe and productive workforce must constantly be balanced against an employee’s right to maintain privacy regarding medical conditions. And as the recent case of LaCroix v. Boston Police Department illustrates, medical inquiries and examinations—including those made after an employee returns from a leave of absence—are no exception.
“Examination and Inquiry” Claims Under the ADA
As a general rule, the ADA prohibits an employer from making medical inquiries and requiring medical examinations of current employees. Thus, in order to prove a violation of the ADA’s “examination and inquiry” prohibition (§ 12112(d)(4)(A)), an employee must ordinarily only show the examination or inquiry is likely to elicit information about a disability. If the employee does so, then the burden shifts to the employer to show the examination or inquiry, and the resulting disclosure of medical information, was both “job-related” and “consistent with business necessity.”
Like many other buzz phrases in the ADA “job-related” and “consistent with business necessity” carry independent legal significance with their own proof requirements. Specifically, the standard is satisfied if the employer can show: (1) it reasonably believes the employee’s...
The United States and its regional partners control the Strait of Hormuz, and commercial shipping continues despite Iranian aggression, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said, rejecting three claim...