Disability Discrimination and Reasonable Accommodations for Employees With Disabilities

  • Awarded two successive 3 year contracts by the CA Department of Mental Health and Department of Rehabilitation co-operative program with county mental health agencies to provide training on best practices on hiring, managing, disciplining and providing reasonable accommodations for employees with a range of physical and mental disabilities (2006-2009 and 2009-2012)

  • Awarded a one year contract with the San Francisco Human Services Agency to provide a comprehensive review of their policies and procedures on providing reasonable accommodations and language access for recipients public welfare benefits and services who have disabilities or whose primary language is not English; devise training curriculum on reasonable accommodations for staff at all levels of the agency

  • “Return to Work Issues Under California Disability Law: Workers’ Compensation And The CA Fair Employment & Housing Act,” Lorman Education Services seminar for HR, safety and risk management professionals, insurance claims representatives, rehabilitation and occupational health specialists, Oakland, April 24, 2003

  • “Reasonable Accommodations For Employees And Applicants With Disabilities: How To Engage In The Interactive Dialogue,” Administrative Office of the Courts/Judicial Council of California, Annual Statewide Training Conference for ADA coordinators and HR personnel of the CA courts, San Francisco, April 27, 2005

  • “How To Engage In The Interactive Dialogue With Employees With Disabilities To Determine Reasonable Workplace Accommodations,” HR Star Conference, South San Francisco, CA, July 20, 2005

  • “Managing Employees With Mental And Psychological Disabilities: Detangling Performance And Misconduct Issues From Disability Limitations,” Administrative Office of the Courts/Judicial Council of California, Annual Statewide Training Conference for ADA coordinators and HR personnel of the CA state courts, San Francisco, CA, April 19, 2007 and April 16, 2008

  • “Disability Discrimination: Demystifying The Reasonable Accommodation Process For Employees With Disabilities”
    • Northern California Human Resources Association (NCHRA) Program, San Francisco, CA, October 19, 2005
    • Liberty Benefit Insurance Services programs for HR Professionals, Milpitas, CA, April 20, 2006
    • Liberty Benefit Insurance Services programs for HR Professionals, Atherton, CA, April 25, 2006
    • Peralta Community College District, Oakland, CA, October 12, 2006

  • “Managing Employees With Disabilities: Conducting An ‘Interactive Dialogue’ To Determine Reasonable Accommodations,” Managers Training at Peralta Community College District, Oakland, CA, October 30, 2007

  • “Mental And Physical Disabilities In The Workplace: Navigating The Maze Of Accommodations, Leaves Of Absence, And Performance/Misconduct Issues” Marin, Napa and Sonoma County Superior Courts, November 2007

  • “Navigating The Maze Of Workplace Disability Accommodations And Leave Of Absence Laws Documenting Essential Job Functions And Each Step Of The Interactive Process”
    • Alameda County Training and Education Center, Oakland, CA, February 6, 2008
    • Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health, June 25 and 26, 2008
    • California Association of Equal Rights Professionals (CAERP) Conference, Palm Springs, CA, June 18, 2008

  • “Best Practices For The Employment Of Employees With Mental And Physical Disabilities: Interviewing, Managing And Providing Reasonable Workplace Accommodations” sponsored and paid for by the California Department of Rehabilitation and Department of Mental Health Cooperative Program for county mental health agencies and affiliates throughout California:
    • Los Angeles County, City of Los Angeles, February 7, 2008
    • San Joaquin County, Stockton, CA April 22, 2009
    • Solano County, Fairfield, CA, January 15, 2009
    • Los Angeles County, San Fernando Valley, Van Nuys, CA, October 12, 2010
    • Butte County, Chico, CA, January 24, 2011
    • Tri-City Mental Health Authority, Pomona, CA, March 21, 2011
    • Sonoma County, Santa Rosa, CA, April 19, 2011
    • Marin County, San Rafael, CA, December 5, 2011
    • Lake County, Lucerne, CA, March 23, 2012
    • Los Angeles County, Culver City, May 15, 2012
    • Santa Clara County, San Jose, June 4, 2012
    • San Francisco City and County, June 7 and 26, 2012

  • Regularly featured presenter at three Northern California chapter meetings of the Disability Management Employers Coalition (DMEC) on legislative and case law developments on disability and leaves of absence laws:
    • “Employment Law Jeopardy! How To Avoid Putting Your Company At Risk By Understanding Recent Developments In California Workplace Disability Laws,” San Francisco Chapter, April 2004
    • “Still (Going) Crazy After All These Years!” A Practical Approach To Disability Accommodations In The Workplace,” San Francisco Chapter, April 28, 2006
    • “Managing Employees with Behavioral Disabilities: Detangling The Knot Of Accommodations And Leave Options,” San Francisco Chapter, August 29, 2007
    • “Return To Work Challenges: Navigating The Maze Of Disability And Leave Of Absence Laws,” San Jose Chapter, September 18, 2009
    • “Navigating The Disability Law Maze: Learn From Employers’ Costly Mistakes When Responding To Employee Requests For Accommodations,” Sacramento Chapter, October 28, 2009
    • "Managing Employee Disability Accommodations," San Jose Chapter Meeting, September 20, 2013

  • “Investigating Disability Discrimination And Failure To Accommodate Complaints"
    • September 27, 2012 HR Law Consultants Conference, San Francisco, CA
    • Association of Workplace Investigators (AWI) Annual Conference, Oakland, CA, November 2, 2012

  • “Navigating The Interactive Process And Reasonable Accommodations When Managing Employees With Mental And Non-Visible Disabilities”
    • EEOC Annual TAPS Conference for Employers, San Jose, CA, June 12, 2008
    • EEOC Annual TAPS Conference for Employers, Oakland, CA, June 29, 2009

  • “Reasonable Accommodations For Employees With Mental Disabilities, What It Means, How To Get One And How To Provide One,” California Consumer Employment Summit sponsored by the California Mental Health Directors Association, Garden Grove, CA, October 3, 2008

  • “Demystifying The Interactive Dialogue: Providing Reasonable Accommodations For Employees With Psychiatric Disabilities”
    • Solano County Department of Mental Health, Fairfield, CA, January 15, 2009
    • California Association of Social Rehabilitation Agencies (CASRA) Spring 2009 Conference, San Mateo, CA, April 7, 2009

  • “Documenting Reasonable Accommodations For Employees With Mental Disabilities: Detangling Performance, Misconduct and Attendance Issues From Disability Limitations,” San Joaquin County Department of Behavioral Health, Stockton, CA, April 28, 2009

  • “Hiring And Managing Employees With Psychological Disabilities: Engaging In The ‘Interactive Process’ To Provide Effective Reasonable Accommodations,” series of statewide on-site trainings in Los Angeles, Oakland, Modesto, Ukiah and Santa Ana and webinar sponsored by Working Well Together, a program of the California Institute of Mental Health (CIMH), May – June 2009

  • “Effectively Managing Employees With Disabilities: Demystifying The Interactive Dialogue When Providing Reasonable Accommodations,” California Institute for Mental Health (CIMH), Sacramento, CA, October 30, 2009

  • “The ADA At Work: Providing Reasonable Accommodations And Demystifying The Interactive Process,” California Association of Social Rehabilitation Agencies (CASRA) Spring 2010 Conference, San Mateo, CA, April 7, 2010

  • “Navigating The Interactive Process And Reasonable Accommodations For Employees With Disabilities,” The Center at Cathedral Plaza, Los Angeles, CA, June 21, 2010

  • “Providing Reasonable Accommodations And Disciplining Employees With Disabilities”
    • EEOC Annual TAPS Conference for Employers, San Francisco, CA, June 9, 2011
    • Alameda County Training and Education Center, Oakland, CA, September 29, 2011

  • “Disability Discrimination And Reasonable Accommodations For Employees With Disabilities”
    • Managers and Administrators at Peralta Community College District, Oakland, CA, October 17, 2011
    • Human Resources Department at Bank of the West, San Francisco, CA, October 25, 2011
    • Human Resources Department at Bank of the West, Los Angeles, CA, July 17, 2012
    • Human Resources Department at California Water Service Company, San Jose, CA, August 15, 2012
    • Managers Training at California Water Service Company, San Jose, CA, November 8, 2012

  • “Disability Inclusion: Corporate And Law Firm Best Practices For The Employment Of Lawyers With Disabilities,” The American Bar Association Commission on Disability Rights’ Third National Conference on The Employment of Lawyers with Disabilities, Washington, D.C., May 8, 2012

  • Special guest on Chuck Finney’s May 23, 2012 “Your Legal Rights” KALW 91.7 FM radio program (part of NPR digital network): providing reasonable accommodations and engaging in the interactive process with employees with disabilities, employees’ right to privacy of their medical and genetic information under the Genetic Information Non-Discrimination Act (GINA), terminating employees who use medicinal marijuana, among other hot button issues related to workplace disability accommodations

  • “Top Ten Employer Mistakes When An Employee With A Disability Requests An Accommodation: Tips For Investigators,” EEOC Annual TAPS Conference for Employers, San Jose, CA, June 14, 2012

  • “Workplace Issues And The Interactive Process,” Opening Session Panelist and Workshop Presenter, 9th Annual Alameda County Disability Employment Awareness Conference: “Celebrating the Dynasty of Diversity,” San Leandro, CA, October 11, 2012

  • “Reasonable Accommodations: Navigating The Six Steps Of The Interactive Process,” US Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) Workforce Solutions Conference, San Francisco, CA, October 19, 2012

  • “Reasonable Workplace Accommodations For Employees With Disabilities: The Interactive Process In 6 Steps”
    • Northern California Human Resources Association (NCHRA) 2013 HR West Conference, Oakland, CA, April 22, 2013
    • 2013 Disability Management Employer Coalition (DMEC) Annual International Conference, Atlanta, GA, August 19, 2013

  • “Employee Disability Accommodations And Medical Leaves: How To Avoid Legal Landmines And Navigate The 6 Steps Of The Interactive Process,” CompassPoint HR Network Meeting, Oakland, CA, May 8, 2013

  • “Reasonable Accommodations For Employees With Disabilities: Documenting Essential Job Functions, The Interactive Process And Disciplinary Issues”
    • EEOC Annual TAPS Conference for Employers, San Jose, CA, June 2013
    • Alameda County Training and Education Center, Oakland, CA, October 3, 2013

  • “Workplace Disability Accommodations: Navigating And Documenting The Interactive Process,” Managers Training at Peralta Community College District, Oakland, CA, June 12, 2013 and January 9, 2015

  • “Disability Awareness,” series of trainings for San Francisco Human Services Agency, San Francisco, CA, July 17 & 24, 2013 and February 6, 2014

  • “Accommodating And Disciplining Employees With Medical Conditions,” Silicon Valley Women in Human Resources, National University, San Jose, CA, April 16, 2014

  • “Navigating The Interactive Process: Best Practice Tips And Traps To Avoid,” 2014 Disability Management Employer Coalition (DMEC) Annual International Conference, Las Vegas, NV, August 12, 2014

  • “Managing Employees With Disabilities: Accommodating & Addressing Performance, Misconduct and Absenteeism Issues”
    • Alameda County’s 11th Annual Disability Employment and Awareness Conference, DiversAbility, Emeryville, CA, October 16, 2014
    • ABD Insurance Seminar, Foster City, CA, March 26, 2015

  • “Managing Disability Accommodations: Navigating The Interactive Process,” Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority, Santa Clara, CA, June 5, 2015

  • “A Step-By-Step Guide To Providing Reasonable Accommodations: Navigating The Interactive Process,” State Compensation Insurance Fund, Vacaville, CA, June 9, 2015

  • “Managing And Disciplining Employees With Disabilities,” 2015 Disability Management Employer Coalition (DMEC) Annual International Conference, San Francisco Marriott Marquis, San Francisco, CA, August 3, 2015

  • “Accommodating, Managing and Disciplining Employees with Disabilities," 2017 HR West Conference, sponsored by Northern California Human Resources Association (NCHRA), March 8, 2017

  • “Beware the Riptides: Surfing the Dangerous Cross-Currents of Employment Law and California Workers Compensation,” Disability Management Employer Coalition (DMEC) Panel Presentation, Walnut Creek, CA, April 28, 2017

  • “Managing Workplace Disability Accommodations, Leaves of Absences, and Misconduct Issues,” Annual TAPS Conference for Employers, San Jose, June 7, 2017