To: Personnel Policy Committee
From: Nan Kern
Date: December 28, 1998
Re: Personnel Policy
Committee Meeting November 4, 1998
The Northern Textile Association Personnel Policy Committee met November 4, 1998 at the Best Western Lord Wakefield Hotel, Wakefield, MA.
Attending: Tara Schultz, BF Goodrich Company; Mike Butler and Scott Welch, Carleton Woolen Mills, Inc.; Alexis K. Paskevich and Irene Niemi, Dorr Woolen Company; Mickie Richardson, Homestead Industries, Inc.; Joanne Meyer and Bill Noble, Intermark Fabric Corporation; Cindy A. Letourneau, Key Polymer Corporation; Dan Brown, L.W. Packard & Co., Inc.; Patricia Dupuis, Spectro Coating Corporation; and Nan Kern, Northern Textile Association.
Robin A. Friedman, Jackson Lewis Schnitzler & Krupman, spoke on "Taking Affirmative Steps to Prevent Falling into the ADA, FMLA, Workers Compensation Quagmire". She distributed a comprehensive workbook to each attendee. Please call the NTA office for a copy. Below are highlights from her talk.
Overview of the Americans
with Disabilities Act and State Anti-Discrimination Law
ADA Definition of Disability: When does an injured worker have a "disability" under the ADA?
The Americans with
Disabilities Act and Workers Compensation
What an employer can and can not ask in
interviews and on applications
Pre-employment inquiries allowable
under the Americans With Disabilities Act
Examples of pre-offer inquiries
allowed
Examples of post-offer inquiries
allowed
Reasons why job offers may be
withdrawn
Termination issues
Why your workers' compensation claimant could
become the disability plaintiff: remedies available under the ADA and State
Fair-Employment Practices Laws
Making the ADA work for you: how to control
workers compensation costs and comply with the ADA
Solution to two problems: ADA and Workers
Comp.
Understanding the ADA and Workers'
Compensation Connection
Qualifying for worker's compensation
benefits vs. being a "qualified individual with a disability" under
the ADA: the built-in-conflict based on the different purposes of these laws
Worker attitudes
Supervisors' attitudes
How to identify a reasonable
accommodation
Modified or "light duty"
program under the Massachusetts Workers' Comp. Law
Integrating ADA, Workers' Comp. and
Return To Work policies while avoiding potential ADA liability
Overview
of the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993
Is there an AMLA - Workers' Compensation
connection?
Definition of "serious health
condition" under the FMLA
Summing
Up
In many ways, ADA, FMLA and Workers' Comp.
seem to be irreconcilable. Each statute
was enacted for a different purpose.
For example, ADA precludes effective screening of potential workers'
compensation claimants. On the other
hand, a policy which emphasizes return to work strategies and reasonable
accommodation should enable injured workers to come back to work sooner. This approach reduces benefit costs and, at
the same time, can reduce workers' compensation experience and cost.
Other
Business
After the speaking program, there was a discussion of recent legislative and international trade developments affecting the textile industry. An update of plant closings and layoffs since 1996 was distributed.
The next meeting of the PPC will be Wednesday, March 10 at the Best Western Lord Wakefield Hotel in Wakefield, MA. The program will include a roundtable discussion on healthcare options and an update by David Trumbull on the legislation and foreign trade developments affecting textile companies.