The Essential Guide to Family & Medical Leave

252 | the essential guide to family and medical leave
An accommodation that would be extremely costly (for example, adapting
technical equipment that would eat up months’ worth of company profits)
or would change the character of the business (for example, installing bright
lighting in a previously dimly lit, romantic restaurant) could create an undue
hardship.
Rules for Handling Medical Records
Under the FMLA, employee medical records must be handled confidentially,
kept in secured files, and released only to limited people in limited circumstances.
These rules also apply to medical records covered by the ADA. You
can find a description of these rules in Chapter 12.
Overlap Between the FMLA and the ADA
The FMLA and the ADA overlap only if an employee has both a serious
health condition under the FMLA and a disability under the ADA.
Although many ailments—such as cancer, multiple sclerosis, HIV/AIDS,
stroke, and diabetes—likely qualify under both laws, some do not. For
example, an employee who is pregnant, has a broken bone, or has suffered
a temporary serious injury is covered by the FMLA but not the ADA. An
employee who is blind or hard of hearing and can perform the job’s essential
functions with an accommodation has a disability but perhaps not a serious
health condition.
An employee who is protected by both the FMLA and the ADA is
entitled to the rights provided by both laws: up to 12 weeks of job-protected
leave with benefits continuation under the FMLA, and a reasonable
accommodation to enable the employee to perform the job’s essential
functions under the ADA. If the laws allow different rights in the same
situation, the employee is entitled to whichever provides the greater benefit.
Example: Sam uses a wheelchair due to a back injury that left him paralyzed from
the waist down. He needs to have surgery related to his condition and expects to be
out of work for two months. Because you know Sam has a disability, you consider