Does the ADA require that employers exempt an employee with a disability from time and attendance requirements?
Although the ADA may require an employer to modify its time and attendance requirements as a reasonable accommodation (absent undue hardship), employers need not completely exempt an employee from time and attendance requirements, grant open-ended schedules (e.g., the ability to arrive or leave whenever the employee’s disability necessitates), or accept irregular, unreliable attendance. Employers generally do not have to accommodate repeated instances of tardiness or absenteeism that occur with some frequency, over an extended period of time and often without advance notice. 73 The chronic, frequent, and unpredictable nature of such absences may put a strain on the employer’s operations for a variety of reasons, such as the following: • an inability to ensure a sufficient number of employees to accomplish the work required; • a failure to meet work goals or to serve customers/clients adequately; • a need to shift work to other employees, thus preventing them from doing their own work o
Related Questions
- Can employers dock an exempt employees wages for time spent on jury duty regardless of the number of weeks on such duty?
- Does the ADA require employers to modify attendance policies as a reasonable accommodation, absent undue hardship?
- Can a supervisor require a doctors note from an employee (exempt or non-exempt) that uses sick time?
