The Fleet Business Authority
Issue link: http://heavydutytrucking.epubxp.com/i/236631
Safety&Compliance; When workers' comp & the Helping drivers return from injury leave may require accommodations What is a disability? Under ADA, even short-term conditions can be considered disabling if they are severe enough. d Drivers and other employees who get injured at work may be temporarily unable to perform their jobs. If an injury prevents an employee from working, you might wonder what steps you need to take to get the employee back on the job, or how much time must pass before you can hire a replacement. State workers' compensation laws expect you to help injured employees return to work, but don't require holding a job for a specified time. This raises the question: How much time off should the injured employee get? Some laws, like the Family and Medical Leave Act, require covered employers to provide up to 12 weeks of job-protected leave for an employee's serious health condition, which could result from a work-related injury. However, if the employee doesn't qualify for FMLA or needs more than 12 weeks off, the question again arises about when the employee can be released. Other laws, like the Americans with Disabilities Act, apply to em- Although the term "disability" might suggest a condition such as blindness or the loss of a limb, the ADA definition is much broader. Even short-term conditions can be disabling if they are sufficiently severe. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which enforces the ADA, gave an example of an employee with a work-related back injury that resulted in a lifting restriction of no more than 20 pounds. Under ADA, this employee has a disability even if the condition lasts only a few months. The ADA requires covered employers to offer reasonable accommodations to help disabled employees perform the essential functions of the job. A reasonable accommodation is one that does not create undue hardship on the employer – but "undue hardship" isn't easy to establish. It means a significant difficulty or ex- As the amount of time off needed increases, so does the likelihood that the injury will qualify as a disability. ployers with 15 or more employees. Similar state laws may apply to smaller organizations. The ADA places some restrictions on medical inquiries and examinations, but does not supersede the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations, where §391.45(c) states that "any driver whose ability to perform his/her normal duties has been impaired" by an injury must be medically examined and certified before operating a CMV. You can also require a driver to inform you of certain drug use under §382.213. pense based on the resources available to the organization. For example, an injured employee might need a few days off to recover. A minor injury usually isn't a disability under the ADA, but granting this time off is essentially an accommodation. The problem isn't whether to grant a few days off, but rather identifying when the injury becomes severe enough to qualify as a disability. As the amount of time off needed increases, so does the likelihood that the injury will qualify as a disability. Edwin Zalewski • J.J. Keller & Associates 24 HDT • JANUARY 2014 www.truckinginfo.com