DON’T STOP READING WITH THIS FMLA/ADA HEADLINE
The Supreme Court just decided to not overturn a 7th Circuit decision that held a disabled employee was not entitled to additional leave once his/her FMLA leave ran out. The typical story headline reporting that decision is likely to lead employees to think the chance of ever getting additional leave as a reasonable accommodation is gone forever. Not so. Even the 7th Circuit Court recognized there are circumstances where a disabled employee would be entitled to additional leave, particularly for short or intermittent leave requests. The key for the 7th Circuit was whether the additional absence amounts to being unable to do the job at all. Moreover, this is only one of about a dozen circuit courts, each of which makes its own decision on this issue, as does the EEOC. Here is a link to the Circuit Court decision if you want to know more about these post-FMLA leave requests.
