Americans with Disabilities Act - dmec.org

1 @work SEPTEMBER 2018 | VOL 10 NO 5. Official Publication of Disability Management Employer Coalition Americans with Disabilities Act Inside This Issue: Expanding Compliance Mandates Leave Management Technology Contents SEPTEMBER 2018 | VOL 10 NO 5. Departments 5 The CEO's Desk Accommodations: Respond, Interact, Manage & Document 7 Compliance Memos Paid Sick Leave Conflicts: Litigation vs. Ballot Box Paid Family Leave: Massachusetts Passes Sixth State Law Employers May Select Among Effective Accommodations SPOTLIGHT Articles 33 DMEC. News 2018 DMEC Annual Conference: A Larger Toolbox for Workplace Diversity 17 Program Showcase: The ADA and Job Descriptions 2018 Partnership Award Winners: by Margaret Walsh Kimberly Mashburn and Michael Vittoria 19 RTW Case Study: Interaction with the ADAAA.

2 By Brian Kost Features 9 2017 Leave Management Survey: Responses to Expanding Compliance Mandates 13 Leave Filling in the Gaps with Management Technology by Angie Brown, Business Development Manager ClaimVantage Columns @work Editorial Policy 23 Work/Life by Marti Cardi Squeeze: FMLA Caregiver Protections @Work magazine is the official publication of the Disability Management Employer Coalition. Copyright 2018 by DMEC. All rights reserved. Federal and State Pregnancy Protections: The goal of @Work is to present industry and Association The Ultimate Caregiver news, highlight member achievements, and promote the exchange of specialized professional information.

3 The statements and opinions expressed herein are those of the 24 Integrated individual authors and do not necessarily represent the views Absence Management of the Association, its staff, board of directors, or its editors. by Glenn Pransky and Paula Aznavoorian-Barry Likewise, the appearance of advertisers does not constitute an endorsement of products or services featured in this, past, or The ADA and RTW: Success Through Partnership subsequent issues of this publication. DMEC makes no representations, warranties, or assurances as to accuracy of the information contained in the articles, and no content 25 Absence Matters by Bryon Bass herein is legal or tax advice.

4 Consult appropriate professionals for legal or tax advice. @Work welcomes submission of articles of interest to disability Insightful Strategies for Managing and and absence management professionals at all levels. Instruc- tions for submission are published online at Accommodating an Aging Workforce work-magazine. DMEC Membership 26 Engaging Today's Workforce by Phil Bruen Individuals receive @Work as a DMEC member benefit. Call or go online to for more information. Supporting Employees on Paid Family Leave Contact DMEC. 28 The Disabled Workforce 5173 Waring Road, Suite 134, San Diego, CA 92120-2705. by Rachel Shaw Crossroads: When Disability and Discipline Meet Editor Sponsors 29 Accommodations Peter Mead, CPDM.

5 Best Practice Guide Diamond Sponsors Lincoln Financial Group by Roberta Etcheverry For all editorial questions MetLife Layout & Production What Is a "Reasonable" Accommodation? Mark Jaquette Sedgwick Platinum Sponsors Editorial Review Panel 30. AbsenceSoft Riding the Demographic Wave Linda J. Croushore, MEd, CRC. Steven M. Genduso, MA, CPDM. Broadspire Cigna by Matthew Bahl and Kristin Tugman Thomas P. LeRoy, PT, MSErg Terri Morris, CEBS, CPDM. Prudential ReedGroup Millennials and Mental Health Fred Schott Spring Consulting Group Skip Simonds Sun Life Financial 31 6byPillars The Hartford of Leave Management DMEC National Board Marcia Carruthers The Partners Group Geoffrey Simpson Terri L.

6 Rhodes Michael Crowe The Standard Unum Workflow for the ADA Interactive Process Kevin Curry Gold Sponsors Debby Kweller ClaimVantage 32 Kimberly Mashburn FINEOS. Aligning Workers' Compensation Genex by Gary Anderberg Matrix/Reliance Standard Pacific Resources Coordinating ADAAA Compliance for All RTW and Workplace Accommodations Share Your Input: 2018 Leave Management Survey Participate in the 2018 DMEC Employer Leave Management Survey. The information gathered from the survey will provide insight into how employers are managing employee leaves. The Participate Today! white paper developed from the results will provide a set of leave management best practices distributed in early 2019.

7 The survey closes Oct. 8. Start the survey. Creating Employee Experiences that Matter Today, the best companies are creating employee experiences that drive satisfaction and loyalty. That's why we help you create a workforce focused on what matters most to your employees. Flexible employee benefit solutions, like enhanced leave and disability programs, that meet the changing needs of today's workforce. Keeping your business competitive and your employees motivated. Learn what matters most to employees with our latest Employee Benefit Trends Study at Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, New York, NY 10166 L0618505820[exp1018][All States] 2018 MetLife Services and Solutions, LLC.

8 The CEO's Desk SEPTEMBER 2018. Terri L. Rhodes CCMP, CLMS, CPDM, MBA. President and CEO, DMEC. Accommodations: Respond, Interact, Manage & Document Welcome to Autumn! This edition of @Work that impact the employee's ability to perform is focused on the Americans with Disabilities the job can be reviewed. We sometimes make Act (ADA). Why does the ADA remain a chal- this step more difficult than it is. lenge for many employers? The law has been in The most common accommodations are tools existence for more than 25 years. We've evolved used through existing return-to-work (RTW). our programs to meet changing requirements. programs, such as adjusting work schedules and We've fine-tuned our processes, and we know making the workplace more accessible, and typ- what we need to do.

9 Ically the cost is less than $500. Perhaps we all need to take a step back and When managing accommodations, you need be reminded of the fundamentals when it comes a written policy and process that clearly describes to ADA accommodation requests. It boils down your disability management program with lan- to four steps: respond, interact, manage, and doc- guage about nondiscrimination for ADA pur- ument. That sounds simple, right? poses. It is imperative that enough people are Before we can respond to an accommodation trained, informed, and skilled at managing your request, we need to know that a request has been program with consistent application of policy made.

10 Often, the manager is aware of a medical and process for requests across the organization. condition that may be And finally, document everything. Document Once the request has been made, impacting job perfor- all conversations and communications and keep mance before the HR a copy in a separate paper or electronic file that employers are required to engage in team knows, so training is not part of the HR file. the interactive " frontline supervisors and Covering the basics (respond, interact, man- managers proves essen- age, and document) is the key to compliant and tial. While this can be challenging given high effective ADA programs.