The Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA") requires employers to "make reasonable accommodations to the known physical or mental limitations of an otherwise qualified individual with a disability." The ADA expressly lists "reassignment to a vacant position" as one possible reasonable accommodation. But courts remain divided on the question of whether, when a disability prevents an employee from performing the essential functions of his or her current position, the ADA requires that the employer reassign the employee to a vacant position for which he or she is qualified, or that the employer need merely permit the employee to apply and compete with other qualified applicants for the vacant position. Courts remain similarly divided over the question of whether the ADA requires accommodations for employees whose impairments do not rise to level of a disability, but who are "regarded as" disabled by their employers.

In this audio conference program, employment law attorney Mark Girouard will offer a roadmap on how to safely navigate the minefield created for employers by this uncertain legal landscape, provide practical tips for responding to requests for accommodation under the ADA, and will also touch on how, if enacted, the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act now pending before Congress will change the ways in which employers must administer the ADA and its reasonable-accommodations requirement.