Intermittent Leaves of Absence under State and Federal Disability Laws

This session will be an in-depth discussion of the Americans with Disability Act (“ADA”) and the Wisconsin Fair Employment Act (“WFEA”) as they pertain to employers responsibilities to accommodate for an Intermittent Leave Accommodation. The session will discussion the similarities and differences between the ADA, and the WFEA and offer examples of reasonable accommodations within each Act.

This session will also cover guidance provided by the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) and courts related to employee requests for intermittent leave as an accommodation under the ADA. In addition, the legal framework for requesting and denying leave under the ADA, and details of separate protections for individuals with disabilities under the WFEA will be reviewed. Finally, tips on successfully managing intermittent leave under the ADA will be discussed. 

The session will also offer thoughts regarding emerging accommodation issues as an increase of generations share the workplace and workforce. Reviewing key cases will provide opportunities for attendees to evaluate requests for Intermittent Leave and identify the accommodation being met in connection with the undue hardship analysis. Finally, the session will provide extensive recommendations for human resource departments, including everything from updating employee job descriptions, tips on how to quantify the burden a leave has on other employees, and training managers on how to handle employees in need of an accommodation.