What's Today's Excuse? Enforcing Attendance Rules, But Offering "Reasonable Accommodation"
Perpetually absent employees: How can a company comply with its wide-ranging legal obligations when a worker is ill or injured ... and allegedly unable work? When must the company hold the person's job open and offer the worker an opportunity for reinstatement? How can the company offer "reasonable accommodation" to the employee without changing the essential functions of the job? When must the company offer an alternative light-duty job? When can the company enforce its attendance policy and actually terminate the employee for missing work? This session will help attendees realistically evaluate the company's options and exposure when trying to remain in legal compliance but still ensure employee productivity, specifically in these areas:
- Business efficiency: learning how to regain control when employees unfairly try to take advantage of the broad protections afforded to them under federal law, which allow them to miss work for extended periods yet keep their jobs.
- Risk management: learning how to effectively manage absenteeism situations without incurring legal liability.
- Employee relations: learning how to keep employee morale high, even when reliable employees are burdened by an extra workload because other workers are excessively absent.
Gregory J. Hare
Greg Hare has been a labor & employment lawyer with Ogletree Deakins for over 27 years – and he’s now the firm’s Managing Shareholder in Atlanta. His practice focuses on assisting companies with HR challenges, government investigations, and employment litigation matters – such as wrongful termination, sexual harassment, employment discrimination, wage and hour disputes, and employment contracts. He advises clients on HR topics like employee discipline and discharge, severance agreements, layoffs, family and medical leave, and use of independent contractors. Greg proactively helps companies reduce exposures by developing management training programs, allowing managers to spot and resolve issues before they mushroom into costly legal disputes.