Affiliations: Department of Rehabilitation Counselling, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA | The Law Firm of Shneidman, Myers, Dowling, Blumenfield, Ehlke, Hawks, and Domer Milwaukee, WI, USA
Note: [] Editors' note: The following article presents an excellent overview of the current status of unpaid medical leave provisions for employees with disabilities and/or serious health conditions. It accurately synthesizes relevant tenets of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, and state workers compensation statutes. Employees with diabetes are absent from work nearly three times more often than their non-disabled coworkers and frequently require extended time off during exacerbation of the illness. Therefore, this information makes an important contribution to this special edition of Work.
Note: [] Corresponding author. 11045 Brookhollow Dr., Ashland, VA 23005, USA. Tel.: + 1 804 8281483.
Abstract: No federal or state lawmaker could have foreseen the nuances involved in the mutual implementations of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, and state workers compensation statutes. These laws are compared and contrasted on a number of key issues. Readers are provided with a decision matrix to guide them and those they represent in the judicious invocation of the most beneficial statute for each issue.
Keywords: Medical leave, Unpaid leave, Employee rights, Reasonable accommodation, Employment law
