If you ask an employee what disabled employees ask for most often, the answer is always the same. It’s time off to get proper treatment and to heal. It may sound perfectly reasonable, that is until you hit a wall of bureaucracy.
At some point, you will come across an employee who looks at the concept of paid time off and treats it like a personal challenge. There is no sensible handbook written to handle this level of challenge. And this is where most employers enter a legal limbo.
The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) has clear and concise rules explaining when an employer can substitute paid leave for unpaid leave. Are you wondering: So, what does the Americans with Disability Act (ADA) say on this matter? This doesn’t surprise our resident HR Jane Harper the least bit, for the legislation remains silent on the matter.
The Eleventh Circuit said the employer had provided a fully functioning accommodation in the form of paid leave to the employee.
The ADA provides little to no guidance on such matters. It simply leaves employers in the dark, wondering whether the law is designed to solve workplace challenges or create new ones to retain lawyers.
This is where the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals comes into action.
An employee in Georgia wanted to hoard all her paid days off in case of a family emergency. On top of it, she also wanted unpaid leave at that time, and her paid holiday preserved for the unusual rainy day. When the employer refused her request to hoard all her leaves, she sued them under the ADA for failing to accommodate her requests.
Employment lawsuits often lean towards the employee. In this case, the judges delivered a rare judgment. The Eleventh Circuit ruled in favor of the employer and even pointed out that giving the employee paid time off was an accommodation in itself. They also added that the employee’s desire to hoard leave for hypothetical emergencies had nothing to do with her own medical condition. According to the court ruling, an employee’s personal preference regarding leaves is not a legal mandate in any order.
The Eleventh Circuit said the employer had provided a fully functioning accommodation in the form of paid leave to the employee. In addition, it was also mentioned that the ADA does not exist to cater to an employee’s personal calendar preferences for leaves and other emergencies.
This brings us towards a real-world challenge that employers often face.
If an employee disappears on months of unpaid medical leave, only to return and disappear once again on weeks of paid vacation, the organization stops being a functional workplace and turns into an organ that only supports one single person.
Can an employer be generous towards the employee? The answer remains a solid yes. Our takeaway from the Eleventh Circuit ruling is that in the end, this must remain an employer’s call. As long as unpaid leaves’ policy is applied consistently and remains fair to the situation, and not according to a single employee’s wishes, the employer is on the right path.
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