EEOC releases "fact sheet" on ADA and epilepsy
The EEOC just released materials on ADA and epilepsy, including a Q & A on the subject.
These materials would be useful for any company. I find that they serve as a useful review of basic aspects of ADA as well.
Great scoop, Michael!
Indeed, this is full of useful examples, and may be applicable by analogy to many other medical conditions.
The EEOC notes:
“This document is the second in a series of fact sheets issued by the EEOC that addresses a particular medical condition. The first fact sheet, Questions and Answers About Diabetes in the Workplace and the ADA, can be found at http://www.eeoc.gov/facts/diabetes.html.”
Always remember three things.
First, whether a particular illness or impairment such as epilepsy is an ADA “disability” depends on the facts of each particular case and is not a question that can be answered generically.
Second, being conservative and assuming that a condition is an ADA disability and acting accordingly in dealing with the individual is usually the smart way to go.
Third, when the horse is out of the barn and the individual is pursuing an ADA claim, being aggressive and taking the stubborn position that the very same condition is most definitely NOT an ADA disability is usually the smart way to go.
So you see, the answer always is “it depends” (Bob Dole’s senior diaper answer to the old “briefs or boxers” question — a joke an EEOC rep. loved telling at a great seminar I attended a few years back)