Glossary of Leave Management Terms

Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990

A civil rights law developed due to the concern that individuals with disabilities were being discriminated against in areas of employment and public accommodations. The ADA impacts employment, public accommodations, state and local governments, telecommunications, and other aspects of American industry and government.

Cafeteria Plan

A written plan maintained by the sponsoring employer that allows employees to pay for qualified benefits on a pre-tax basis.

Certification of Health Care Provider

A form used to verify whether an individual has a serious health condition as defined by the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). The Department of Labor provides a model Certification of Health Care Provider form.

COBRA

See Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act

Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act

Act requiring the continuation of group health insurance coverage for certain individuals.

Department of Labor

Enforces the provisions of the Family and Medical Leave Act.

Direct threat

The situation whereby an individual may cause a threat to the health and safety of others because of a disability. The employer must show a significant current risk of substantial harm; the specific risk must be identified; the risk must be documented by objective medical or other factual evidence regarding the particular individual; and, the employer must consider whether it can be eliminated or reduced below the level of a "direct threat" by reasonable accommodation.

Disability

As defined under the ADA: a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of the major life activities; a record of such impairment, or; being regarded as having such impairment.

DOL

See Department of Labor

EEOC

See Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)

Enforces Title I (nondiscrimination in employment provisions) of the ADA.

Equivalent position

As used in the FMLA this term means essential the same position. It must include the same or substantially similar duties and responsibilities as the original position.

Essential job functions

The fundamental job duties of the position an individual holds or desires. This does not include marginal job functions.

Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)

Applies to employers with 50 or more employees and provides up to 12-weeks of unpaid job-protected leave for employees that qualify for the leave.

FMLA

See Family and Medical Leave Act

Interactive process

The employer and the individual with a disability engaging in an informal process to clarify what the individual needs and identify the appropriate reasonable accommodation.

Intermittent leave

Under the FMLA this is leave taken in separate intervals, rather than all at once.

Job restructuring

The process of reallocating or redistributing the marginal, or non-essential, functions of the job that the employee is unable to do because of his disability.

Light-duty

A job provided to an employee who is unable to perform his or her regular job functions due to a mental or physical impairment and generally entails duties that are less mentally or physically taxing than the employee?s normal duties. Light-duty is typically intended to be temporary and is a means used to ease an employee back into his or her original position.

Major life activities

Those basic activities that the average person in the general population can perform with little or no difficulty. Major life activities include functions such as caring for oneself, walking, performing manual tasks, seeing, hearing, speaking, breathing, learning, and working.

Medical examination

A procedure or test that seeks information about an individual's physical or mental impairments or health.

Mental impairment

Any mental or psychological disorder, such as: mental retardation, organic brain syndrome, specific learning disabilities, emotional or mental illness.

Permanent Partial Disability

A condition whereby an individual has permanently lost partial use of a limb, joint, on of the senses or other part of the body due to a physical or mental injury or illness.

Permanent Total Disability

A condition whereby an individual is permanently unable to work due to a mental or physical injury or illness.

Physical impairment

Any physiological disorder, or condition, cosmetic disfigurement, or anatomical loss affecting one or more of the following body systems: neurological systems, musculoskeletal systems, special sense organs, respiratory systems, speech organs, cardiovascular systems, reproductive systems, digestive systems, genito-urinary systems, hemic and lymphatic systems, skin and endocrine systems.

Qualified individual with a disability

An individual with a disability who satisfies the requisite skill, experience, education and other job-related requirements of the employment position such individual holds or desires, and who, with or without reasonable accommodation, can perform the essential functions of such position.

Reasonable accommodation

Any change in the work environment or in the way things are done that enables a qualified individual with a disability to enjoy equal employment opportunities that does not cause an undue hardship for the employer.

Substantially limiting

Either the individual is unable to perform a major life activity that the average person in the general population can perform, or the individual is significantly restricted as to the condition, manner or duration under which an individual can perform a particular major life activity as compared to the condition, manner or duration under which the average person in the general population can perform the same major activity.

Temporary Partial Disability

A condition whereby an individual has temporarily lost partial use of a limb, joint, on of the senses or other part of the body due to a physical or mental injury or illness.

Temporary Total Disability

A condition whereby an individual is temporarily unable to work due to a mental or physical injury or illness.

Title I of the ADA

Prohibits employment discrimination based upon an individual?s disability.

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act

Prohibits employers from discriminating on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin when they provide a medical leave.

Undue hardship

Significant difficulty or expense incurred implementing an accommodation focusing on the resources and circumstances of the particular employer in relationship to the cost or difficulty of providing a specific accommodation. An employer is not required to implement an accommodation if it would cause an undue hardship.

Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act

A law that guarantees workers who enter the military or guard or reserve members that are called to active duty certain job, health care, and retirement plan protections.

USERRA

See Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act.

Workers' Compensation

A state law that requires employers to provide income replacement and medical coverage for injuries or illness arising out of and in the course of employment. Workers? compensation statutes are generally considered ?no-fault? and are typically the exclusive remedy for injured or ill workers.

Recommended Online Training Courses

• Integrating FMLA, ADA, COBRA, And Workers' Compensation Training & Certification Program