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Americans with Disabilities Amendments Act: Free EARN Webinar July 29th

It is hard to believe that 20 years have passed since the passage of the most important civil rights bill for persons with disabilities. In honor of the ADA's 20^th anniversary, EARN will host a free webinar July 29^th, from 1:30-3:00pm EDT: The Americans with Disabilities Amendments Act (ADAAA) - What Do I Need to Do Now to Ensure I Am Ready for the Change? To register visit: http://www.ilr.cornell.edu/edi/register/ODEP_USBLN_Webinar_7-29-2010.cfm

Understanding Brain Injury: Guide for Employers

The Mayo Clinic has developed a guide for employers with information on the causes and effects of brain injuries and addressing workplace concerns, including examples of simple workplace accommodations. For more information visit: http://mayoresearch.mayo.edu/mayo/research/tbims/guide-for-employers.cfm

Disabilities at Work Radio Show

The Disabilities at Work Radio Show, broadcast every Wednesday at noon EST, "spotlights businesses that go 'beyond compliance' in finding and hiring qualified people with disabilities, or who support people with disabilities through philanthropy or in other ways," and features interviews with corporate VIPs, researchers, and governments officials among others. For more information visit: http://www.disabilitiesatwork.org/PDFs/DAW-Internet-Radio-Show.pdf

Did you know...?

Diversity Inc's top 10 companies for people with disabilities all have at least one resource group for employees with disabilities, offer dependent-care benefits and feature images and/or video of people with disabilities on their corporate web sites. The majority offer alternative career tracks for parents or others with long-term family care issues and have mandatory diversity training for all employees. The top 10 list is available at: http://www.diversityinc.com/article/7554/The-DiversityInc-Top-10-Companies-for-People-With-Disabilities/

The Disability Employment Situation

June 2010*

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Employment rate of persons ages 16-64 with disabilities: 28.5%

Employment rate of persons ages 16-64 without disabilities: 70.3%

Employment Gap: 41.8%

Commonly Used Terms

*In June 2010, the employment rate of people 16-64 years of age was 28.5% for persons with disabilities compared with 70.3% for persons without a disability. The gap between the employment rate of persons of 16-64 years of age with and without disabilities was 41.8%, not seasonally adjusted.

 

Employing Veterans: New and Improved National Resource Directory Launched

The U.S. Departments of Defense, Labor and Veterans Affairs have launched a new and improved National Resource Directory website. In addition to comprehensive resources for service members and veterans, this free online tool provides targeted information for employers, including information on finding job candidates, making workplace accommodations and laws and regulations.  Visit "Employer Resources" on the new website at: http://www.nationalresourcedirectory.gov/employment/employer_resources

The Campaign for Disability Employment

The Campaign for Disability Employment, a collaborative effort among several leading disability and business organizations, seeks to raise awareness and change attitudes about disability and employment. Through its national public education effort, What Can YOU Do?, the Campaign emphasizes that people with disabilities want to work and that their talents and abilities positively impact businesses financially and organizationally. As a part of this nationwide initiative, the Campaign has released an "I Can" public service announcement, to view the PSA visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BG_W7wAe1kw. In addition, The Campaign website (http://www.whatcanyoudocampaign.org/) provides information and resources for employers on why and how to maintain a flexible and inclusive workplace.

Federal Case Determines When a Position is Vacant Under the ADA

While the ADA requires that employers offer vacant positions to workers in order to accommodate their disabilities, a federal court decision has determined that employers' obligation does not extend to offering employees with disabilities positions currently filled by temporary workers. A Georgia-Pacific Consumer Products employee claimed that the company failed to accommodate his disability when it refused to reassign him to a position currently held by a temporary worker. The court concluded that the position was not vacant under the ADA since it would not have been available for similarly situated non-disabled employees to apply for and obtain. The court stated that any other interpretation "would run the risk of transforming the ADA from an antidiscrimination statute into a mandatory preference statute." For more, visit: http://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=55a14bac-3ce8-4cda-88cb-a39bd60ea1bd

Concepts, Inc. Recognized for Excellence in Communications         

Concepts, Inc. (http://www.conceptspr.com/), a woman-owned public relations firm, recently accepted two communications awards on behalf of its client, Disability.gov (www.disability.gov), a federal government website managed by the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP).  In May 2010, Disability.gov received first place in the interactive website category from the National Association of Government Communicators (NAGC). Concepts also accepted an Award of Excellence for its work on the site from the 16th Annual Communicator Awards (2010).

Disability.gov is the first federal government website of its kind, enabling visitors to vote and comment on resources, participate in group forums and view additional resources that are recommended based on their previous site history. The new enhancements continue a nearly year-long effort to use innovative social media and information-sharing technologies to connect and engage Americans with disabilities, their families, veterans and others.

 "We are pleased to have been a part of Disability.gov's most recent successes," said Karen H. Vaughn, Concepts, Inc. president. "Our team brings a great deal of passion and expertise to all the hard work they do on behalf of our clients. We are truly gratified to receive this recognition."

Employee Drug Tests and Medical Marijuana

In March 2010, a Michigan Wal-Mart fired an employee following a positive drug test for marijuana. The termination generated controversy as the employee had cancer and had a prescription for the use of medical marijuana. Currently 14 states permit the use of medical marijuana and several more are considering similar laws, but the use and possession of marijuana is still a violation of federal law. The case has highlighted the complex and, at times, murky situation employers face in balancing the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act and state and federal drug statutes. While the ADA prohibits discrimination based on an individual with a disability seeking treatment or for the side effects of that treatment, it also expressly provides that employers may prohibit the use of illegal drugs by all employees. For more information on navigating this complex issue, visit: http://www.mcguirewoods.com/news-resources/item.asp?item=4908

Preparing HR for Health Care Reform

Foley and Lardner, LLP, a national law firm, has released a list of tips for preparing Human Resource departments for the changes to come from the recently passed health care legislation.

   Some requirements take effect immediately; employers are now required to:

• Give nursing mothers a break "each time such employee has the need to express the milk" for one year after a child's birth.
• Expand the definition of "dependent child" to include coverage of adult children until age 26.
• Ensure that, within six months of enactment, all existing health insurance plans prohibit lifetime limits, prohibit rescissions, restrict annual limits, and include limitations on excessive waiting periods.

   In the future, employers will be required to:

• Report the value of employees' health benefits on W-2 forms (2011).
• Prohibit pre-existing condition exclusions and annual limits in group health plans (2014).
• Pay a penalty of $2,000 per full time employee (FTE) if they have more than 50 FTEs and do not offer health insurance (2014)

For more information visit: http://www.foley.com/publications/pub_results.aspx?&keyword=&searchType=NEWSLETTERS&topicID=&practiceID=&industryID=18&serviceID=&locationID=