Size) Case Study #1: Nancy Worked Stay

¶ … size) Case Study #1: Nancy worked Stay Healthy Hospital 17 years a physical therapist position.

Advising HR how to handle Nancy

Under the Americans With Disabilities Act, businesses are required to make reasonable accommodations for employee disabilities. "This includes job restructuring and equipment modifications. If necessary, employers must make some changes to enable the qualified job applicant with a disability to perform the essential functions of the job."[footnoteRef:1] However, Nancy's difficulties are currently transcending the boundaries of 'reasonable accommodations' and are hampering her ability to perform her duties. The hospital has allowed her to take leave to help manage her illness but her performance has not improved. The hospital should document patient complaints; note the repeated attempts to accommodate Nancy's illness and produce documentation to indicate how Nancy's repeated absences have inconvenienced staff members. [1: "ADA," ORIC, 2012 Mar, [4 May 2013] http://lifecenter.ric.org/index.php?tray=content&tid=top253&cid=16]

Simply taking leave is no longer suitable for Nancy, and even if Nancy continues to be employed by the hospital, she should be required to go on short (or long-term) disability, provided that the hospital offered it to her as part of her employee benefits package when she was hired. "After the sick leave period, an employee might need to go on short-term disability, an insured (or self-insured) program that pays a partial salary for a longer period than company-funded sick leave.[footnoteRef:2]" Epstein-Barr is a chronic condition, and if Nancy cannot manage it without taking excessive sick days, another solution must be found. [2: "Sick leave," HLBLR, [4 May 2013] http://hr.blr.com/analysis/Benefits-Leave/Sick-Leave/new-jersey]

However, to some extent, it appears as if the dilemma of what to do about Nancy will be 'solved' by certain exterior circumstances, namely the fact that the physical therapy department may be outsourced to another facility, effectively ending Nancy's job. In this instance, it is incumbent upon the hospital to ensure that not only is it demonstrated that Nancy's job performance was not satisfactory despite numerous attempts to provide her with reasonable accommodations, but also that the decision to outsource the PT department was based upon financial and logistical factors and was not intended as a form of discrimination against Nancy.