Legal Ease
Supervisors and the Law By Richard D. Alaniz, Alaniz Law & Associates
ever increasing regulation. Supervisors are the trainers of new employees, the employees’ primary contact with the company, as well as the employer’s eyes and ears on the production floor or around the office. Perhaps a supervisor’s most significant role is serving as the employer’s first line of defense against the incidence and continuation of regulatory non-compliance. The result of the patchwork of regulation in which federal, state, and even local governments have the authority and inclination to issue rules and regulations that impact the workplace is a complex web of rules. Violation of any part of this hodgepodge of often overlapping rules can result in substantial legal liability. Ensuring that your supervisors are able to recognize circumstances that could violate these legal standards or entitle an employee to certain rights in the workplace should be a priority. Unfortunately, far too few employers undertake the necessary effort to effectively prepare their supervisors for one of their most critical roles.
S While some of the laws that apply
to the workplace address issues with which supervisors are rarely involved, some of the more significant rules involve matters that are common and can arise daily. Among the most significant laws that regularly require a great deal of supervisory involvement to ensure compliance are the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Both relate to the employees’ health or to that of a family member. Both laws
60 ❘ July 2022 ® The ADA may result in even greater
liability to the unwary employer. Many employees today are working well beyond retirement age, with economic realities forcing some older employees to significantly delay their departure from the workplace. While an aging workforce can offer the benefit of experienced employees, unfortunately, it could also mean more medical issues, some of which may be debilitating. Most employers are aware that the
upervisors occupy a far more demanding and consequential position in today’s workplace given
also have strict provisions and timelines for certain actions to be taken by the employer, such as providing notice of employees’ rights or providing required forms. All too often supervisors fail to recognize the circumstances presented by an employee require employer action, and at times quite promptly. For example, the FMLA, which provides up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave for an employee’s serious illness or that of a family member, requires that employers provide employees formal notice of their rights and responsibilities under the law within 5 days of the employee informing management of circumstances that could qualify for FMLA leave. No specific words are required from the employee and the request need not be in writing to trigger the obligation – or even be a request at all. An employee simply mentioning qualifying circumstances may suffice. A supervisor might easily consider an employee’s comments regarding a personal or family illness nothing more than a casual sharing of a personal concern. However, failure to comply with formal notice requirements in a timely manner in such a circumstance could result in employer liability.
ADA protects disabled employees in all aspects of the employment relationship. What may be less clear are what medical conditions qualify as a “disability,” and what precisely an employer is obligated to do. A disability is defined as a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities. The term is defined quite expansively, and almost any limiting medical condition qualifies. In fact, if a medical impairment is more than temporary, it is likely to be considered a disability. The real issue is how the medical condition affects the employee’s ability to perform the essential function of their job. As used in the definition of disability, “significantly limits one or more life activity” includes such things as caring for ones’ self, performing normal tasks, walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, breathing, eating, drinking, sitting, standing, reading, writing, thinking, learning, and numerous other physical and mental activities.
An employer’s obligations under
the ADA are typically triggered by notice to the employer of a medical condition (disability) that limits the employee’s ability to perform the essential function of his/her job. Most commonly, employees will provide the relevant notice to HR or the employee’s supervisor. Once notice is received, the employer is obligated to engage in what the ADA terms the “interactive process” to determine whether the employer can provide the employee a “reasonable accommodation” that would permit the employee to perform the essential functions of their job. This, of course, makes knowing the essential functions of the job, critical. Supervisors are
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