Assignment (doc) | Employment Law

I need the following on this case study in APA Format: 1.) Title Page 2.) Abstract Page 3.) Two Full Body Pages 4.) Two References Case Study: Ernesto is a 62 year old Hispanic male whose job is a telecommunications/tech repair specialist. He is one of thirty employees of Radix Corp. His duties require him to travel to remote locations to repair computer and other electronic devices located in transmitter stations. These stations are small rectangular metal buildings containing the commutations equipment. He has diabetes and recently filed for workers compensation, claiming that his disease is job related. He recently had to undergo an operation to remove his left leg above the knee. He has been recovering, and his doctor has certified that he can return to work in a limited capacity. The company does not have any available part time positions. What employment laws apply? If the company does not have part time employees; must it create a position for Ernesto? What a

Running head: EMPLOYMENT LAW
EMPLOYMENT LAW
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author Note:
1.

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ABSTRACT:
The present case study assignment is assessed on the basis of the Americans with
Disabilities Act of 1990, hereinafter referred to as ADA. This Act states that it is unlawful to
cause discrimination in the employment with respect to a qualified individual having any
disability. The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 together with ADA provide protection to the
individuals with mental as well as physical disabilities. Further Vocational Rehabilitation Act of
1973 must also be referred which prevents discrimination against individuals with disabilities
who are otherwise qualified. This Act provides the skeleton for the ADA later.

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Issue
The issues to be discussed in the present case study are as follows: what employment
laws are applied here, whether the company shall create a new position for Ernesto if the
company has no provision for part time employees, whether any action is to be taken by the
company to deal with disability of Ernesto in association with position for full time, whether any
action is to be taken by the company if Ernesto becomes unable to perform the essential
functions.
Relevant Law:
The present case study is to be discussed in the light of the chapter 126 of Equal
Opportunity for Individuals with Disabilities of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990,
hereinafter referred to as ADA together with the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Edmonds, 2016).
The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 together with ADA provide protection to the individuals with
mental as well as physical disabilities (Rothstein, 2015). In this regard, Vocational Rehabilitation
Act of 1973 that provides the skeleton for the ADA later must also be referred which prevents
discrimination against individuals with disabilities who are otherwise qualified as per section
504. The ADA is applied to private company with more than 15 employees. Moreover, the
National Labor Relations Act of 1935 called the Wagner Act also provides provision for good
faith bargaining by which working hours, wages and other working conditions can be negotiated
by a labor with management.
As per ADA, an employer has a duty to allow an employee having any disability to work
in a modified or even part time schedule as a reasonable accommodation. A reasonable

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accommodation as per subsection 9 of section 12111 of ADA is available to the qualified
employees with disabilities. Such reasonable accommodation can be in the form of part time
work schedules. However, such employee must be otherwise qualified such that he is able to
perform the essential and the fundamental task of the job for which he is employed. This is given
in the definition of qualified individual under subsection 8 of section 12111 of ADA.
Thus, though part time work can be a form of reasonable accommodation, the employers
must not convert the existing full time jobs to part time. This is given in the informal guidance
from Equal Employment Opportunity Commission created by section 2000e-4 of this title
(Iganski & Mason, 2018). Due to this, a request for a part time work by any employee usually
ends up as a request for a reassignment to a part time job which is already existing.
The disability of an employee in connection with full time position can be solved by the
company by allowing reasonable accommodation for him. But, such reasonable accommodation
must not impose undue impose on employer. As per subsection 10 of section 12111 of ADA,
undue influence refers to an action that requires much expense or difficulty to be considered in
the light of the factors given in sub paragraph (B) of sub section 10 of section 12111.
However, the main criterion for making a claim for reasonable accommodation, the
employee must be otherwise qualified for the position such that he must be able to perform the
fundamental duty of the employee.
Application:
In the present case study, it is seen that Ernest works in Radix Corp which has around 30
employees. Thus this company comes under the application of ADA (Francis & Silvers, 2015).
His work is to travel to remote locations for repairing computer as well as other electronic

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devices in the transmitter stations which are rectangular small metal buildings having
commutations equipment only. His leg got removed by an operation above knee. As per doctor,
he can work in limited capacity.
Though the company has no part time positions, as part of reasonable accommodation,
the company can convert his full time work to part time instead of creating new position for part
time. As per the good faith bargaining position of the Wagner Act, Ernest can always negotiate
with the management regarding working conditions and other matters.
Further, if the company is required to take action regarding working in full time position,
the company can take reasonable accommodation without incurring hardships. In this regard, the
company can provide him pick and drop facility or accommodating wheel chair so that he can
move to these places easily.
However, if Ernest cannot perform the essential part of his job, he is not a qualified
individual. In such case the company may assign Ernest to a vacant position for which he is
qualified with/ without accommodation and undue hardship assuming that he is facing difficulty
to reach the remote places and wheel chair cannot be accommodated.
Conclusion:
Thus it can be concluded in the present case study that Americans with Disabilities Act of
1990 is mainly applied here. The Wagner Act can also be applied here to little extent. The
company may not create a new position for Ernesto if the company has no provision for part time
employees. Yes, actions can be taken by the company to deal with disability of Ernesto in
association with position for full time by allowing reasonable accommodation. The company

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may reassign Ernesto to a new vacant position if he becomes unable to perform the essential
functions.

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References:
Edmonds, J. (2016). Examining Outcomes in Americans with Disabilities Act Litigation for
Persons with Mental and Physical Disabilities (Doctoral dissertation, Georgetown
University).
Francis, L., & Silvers, A. (Eds.). (2015). Americans with disabilities. Routledge.
Iganski, P., & Mason, D. (2018). Ethnicity, equality of opportunity and the British National
Health Service. Routledge.
Rothstein, M. A. (2015). Innovations of the Americans With Disabilities Act: confronting
disability discrimination in employment. Jama, 313(22), 2221-2222.
The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990
The National Labor Relations Act of 1935
The Rehabilitation Act of 1973
The Vocational Rehabilitation Act of 1973