ADA Procedures

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Americans with Disabilities Amendments Act (ADAAA) are federal laws that require employers with 15 or more employees to not discriminate against applicants and individuals with disabilities and, when needed, to provide reasonable accommodations to applicants and employees who are qualified for a job, with or without reasonable accommodations, so that they may perform the essential job duties of the position. Every employer should have ADA Procedures in place to accommodate this law. 

FMLA Procedures

The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is a federal law that provides eligible employees of covered employers with unpaid, job-protected leave for specified family and medical reasons. Eligible employees may take up to 12 workweeks of leave in a 12-month period for one or more of the following reasons:

• The birth of a son or daughter or placement of a son or daughter with the employee for adoption or foster care, and to bond with the newborn or newly-placed child;
• To care for a spouse, son, daughter, or parent who has a serious health condition, including incapacity due to pregnancy and for prenatal medical care;
• For a serious health condition that makes the employee unable to perform the essential functions of his or her job, including incapacity due to pregnancy and for prenatal medical care; or
• For any qualifying exigency arising out of the fact that a spouse, son, daughter, or parent is a military member on covered active duty or call to covered active duty status.

An eligible employee may also take up to 26 workweeks of leave during a single 12-month period to care for a covered servicemember with a serious injury or illness when the employee is the spouse, son, daughter, parent, or next of kin of the servicemember. An eligible employee is limited to a combined total of 26 workweeks of leave for any FMLA-qualifying reasons during the single 12-month period.

In addition to providing eligible employees an entitlement to leave, the FMLA requires that employers maintain employees’ health benefits during leave and restore employees to their same or an equivalent job after leave. The law sets requirements for notice, by both the employee and the employer, and provides employers with the right to require certification of the need for FMLA leave in certain circumstances. The law protects employees from interference and retaliation for exercising or attempting to exercise their FMLA rights. The law also includes certain employer recordkeeping requirements. Every employer should have FMLA Procedures in place to accommodate this law. 

We are not your typical firm that simply waits for a lawsuit to hit. Preventing a lawsuit is preferable to winning one. We take a preventative approach to help employers avoid the pitfalls in complying with the complex rules that govern today’s workplace. Above all, we pride ourselves on helping you avoid the lawsuit in the first place. 

Contact Alaniz Law & Associates today to discuss the specifics of your business with us. We can help you to assess the risk areas in your business, determine practical solutions for your specific business, and help you implement them.