Reasonable Accommodations Attorney

Employers have obligations under federal, state, and local laws to provide reasonable accommodations to employees or applicants with disabilities to allow them to perform the essential functions of their jobs.

Employees and applicants may also be entitled to reasonable accommodations for other protected characteristics, such as religious beliefs.

Lerch Early’s attorneys help our employer clients understand their legal obligations and navigate these often unique and challenging situations.

Navigating The Laws Surrounding Reasonable Accommodations

Once an employee requests an accommodation or the need for an accommodation is identified by the employer, the employer has an obligation to engage in a personalized interactive process with the employee to assess the request or need.

This process can raise a number of questions, such as:

  • Does the employee have a disability or other protected characteristic that gives them a right to an accommodation?
  • What laws govern the employer’s obligation to grant an accommodation?
  • Is there an accommodation that will allow the individual to perform the essential functions of their job?
  • Does the accommodation pose an undue hardship on the employer such that it may be excused from providing the accommodation?  

Lerch Early’s employment attorneys help our clients navigate these questions and the other nuanced issues that frequently arise when dealing with requests for accommodations and implementing accommodations.

Understanding Job Protections and Anti-Retaliation Obligations

Federal, state and local law prohibits discrimination or retaliation against employees who request a reasonable accommodation.

In addition to helping our clients manage the underlying request for accommodation, our attorneys also help our clients understand and avoid the associated obligations and risks like these that come with such requests. 

Leave Issues 

Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia have a broad range of different leave laws – each with their own thresholds and requirements.

From the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) to state and local paid sick leave laws to state and local laws mandating unpaid leave for a wide range of unique purposes (such as jury duty, organ donation, school activities), Lerch Early’s employment attorneys help our clients understand what laws apply to them and their employees and what they must do to comply.

Navigating The Laws Surrounding Employee Leave

Navigating the maze of federal, state, and local leave laws can be a challenge for many employers.

Our employment attorneys help businesses develop clear internal policies and employee handbooks to assist management and employees in understanding the different types of leave that might be available to an employee.

We also work with clients to manage complex or difficult employee leave situations that may include family medical leave, short-term disability, workers’ compensation, sick and safe leave, and disability accommodations, separately or all at the same time.

Understanding Job Protection

Particularly where an employee is taking an extended period of protected leave, it is critical for a business to understand its legal obligations with respect to whether the employee has a right to be reinstated to the employee’s original position or any other position with the employer.

With extensive experience in this area, Lerch Early’s attorneys have the experience and knowledge to help clients manage the practical and legal concerns that arise when an employee is on leave.

Consult a Maryland Reasonable Accommodations Attorney

Contact a Lerch, Early & Brewer employment attorney if you need help understanding your legal obligations and navigating and implementing reasonable accommodation requests.

Success Stories

Resolution of Davis-Bacon Claim

Challenge

The U.S. Department of Labor alleged that one of our government contracting clients had not paid its workers the wages mandated under the Davis-Bacon Act, which requires contractors and subcontractors performing work on federal or District of Columbia contracts to pay the local prevailing wage for the type of work being performed.

Strategy

We helped our client to identify the work that was performed on the project and to explain to the DOL investigator why the classifications listed in the applicable wage determination did not apply to this work. We assisted our client to prepare and submit a conformance request to DOL to obtain wage and fringe benefit rates that was appropriate for the work that our client performed. Not only were these rates more in line with the prevailing wage rates for this type of work in the area, they were also substantially lower than the rates the DOL investigator had initially selected. We then assembled a complete package that documented all wages paid and fringe benefits (health insurance, paid leave, vehicle and cell phone allowances) provided by our client to its workers on this project. By including the fringe benefits we were able to further reduce the amount of back pay owed by the client to its workers.

Result

We negotiated an agreement between our client and the DOL on back wages that was more than a 90% reduction from the original back wages demand made by DOL.

Insights