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How Detailed Job Descriptions can Help Avoid Employee Lawsuits
If your San Diego business has employees, you want to put your business in the best position possible to avoid employee litigation and to help win those lawsuits if they are filed. One often-overlooked aspect of avoiding employee litigation is to maintain detailed job descriptions for various employment positions. Such well-written job descriptions are useful and important for many practical reasons, including:
- Employee acclimation
- Establishing employee expectations
- Reference for discipline/terminations
- And more
Each of these practical reasons has a legal component, as well. Taking the second item on the list, for example, divergent employee expectations can lead to breach of contract litigation. But a good job description can avoid the claim and/or help your business win the case in the event of litigation. A good San Diego corporate attorney can help.
One common source of employment litigation concerns “reasonable accommodations” under the Americans With Disabilities Act (“ADA”). See 42 U.S.C. § 12101, et seq. A recent case out of the US Federal First Circuit gives a nice illustration of how a good job description can help win the case. See Sepulveda-Vargas v. Caribbean Restaurants, LLC, Case No. 16-2451 (US 1st Cir., April 30, 2018).
San Diego Corporate Law: ADA “Reasonable Accommodation” Requirement
The ADA prohibits discrimination against a “qualified individual” (see § 12112(a)) in the workplace because of a disability. A “qualified individual” is someone who can perform the “essential functions” of the job with or without reasonable accommodations. For example, if the job — university professor — requires a Ph.D. in physics, then a person without a Ph.D. in physics is not a “qualified individual” regardless of if he or she is disabled. If the person is qualified, but has a disability, the issue becomes whether — and at what cost to the employer — reasonable accommodations can be made to allow the employee to do the job.
San Diego Corporate Law: “Essential Function” Depends on Job Description
What constitutes “reasonable accommodation” depends on the “essential function” of the job which, in turn, depends on the job description. As noted, well-written job descriptions can be important in avoiding and winning accommodation lawsuits.
In Sepulveda-Vargas, the employee sued his employer, the owner of various Burger King franchises in Puerto Rico. Sepulveda-Vargas was an assistant manager. He sued because his employer allegedly failed to make “reasonable accommodations.” He was assaulted on the job and, thereafter, suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and depression. Among the “essential duties” of an assistant manager listed in the job description was the need to have a flexible and rotating work schedule. The “reasonable accommodation” that Sepulveda-Vargas requested was a fixed work schedule. His employer temporarily allowed for a fixed schedule — a temporary accommodation — but then later required Sepulveda-Vargas to revert to the normal flexible rotating schedule.
The lower federal court and the Court of Appeals affirmed dismissal of Sepulveda-Vargas’ case. Based on the job descriptions, being available for the flexible rotating schedule was an “essential function” of the job. Since Sepulveda-Vargas could not work a flexible rotating schedule, he was not a “qualified individual” protected under the ADA from discrimination in the workplace.
A similar result occurred in a case closer to home captioned Samper v. Providence St. Vincent Medical Center, 675 F. 3d 1233 (US 9th Circuit 2012). In that case, the employee was a nurse in a neonatal intensive care unit at a medical facility in Portland, Oregon. Samper’s employer asserted that compliance with the facilities attendance policy was an essential function of the job. The attendance policy required being present for one’s scheduled shift, on-time arrival, and completion of the entire shift. Samper had attendance problems throughout her employment and was eventually fired. She sued, claiming that she was disabled and that her employer should have made a “reasonable accommodation” by allowing her to “opt out” of the attendance policy. The court rejected the argument. The medical facilities’ job description — and common sense — made it clear that attendance and punctuality were “essential functions” of the job of a nurse for a neonatal intensive care unit. As such, Samper was not a “qualified individual” under the ADA.
Contact San Diego Corporate Law Today
For more information and/or for legal advice related to how to draft and the importance of drafting good job descriptions, contact skilled and experienced corporate attorney Michael Leonard, Esq., of San Diego Corporate Law. Mr. Leonard has the experience to help draft and implement job descriptions, company policies and procedures, employee handbooks, and help with all other types of business contracts and legal issues. To schedule a consultation, contact Mr. Leonard via email or call at (858) 483-9200.
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