Photo not that of the actual client.
“Shelly,” who has severe arthritis, had been on an unpaid leave of absence from her employer for about eight months since her doctor restricted her from lifting or pulling anything weighing more than 10 pounds. She called JALA after her employer told her that they were going to end her leave of absence and terminate her. After reviewing the documentation Shelly had received during her leave of absence, as well as her employer’s policies, JALA attorney Edith Jones spoke several times with the company’s human resources manager and Americans with Disabilities Act coordinator about their ADA responsibilities and obligations. Jones convinced them of what they needed to do to comply with ADA in the area of reasonable accommodations. Shelly has since been informed by her employer that they are seeking to place her in an open position that will accommodate her restrictions. The help came at a critical time, enabling Shelley to return to work in the midst of skyrocketing unemployment due to the COVID-19 pandemic, when her alternatives would have been severely limited.
