Dive Brief:
- NFL safety Eric Berry's career with the Kansas City Chiefs took an unexpected detour in 2014, when he was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma, ending his season and threatening his life.
- After several months of chemotherapy treatment, Berry is now cancer free and once again playing with the Chiefs.
- According to Lexology.com, Berry's case may be a "no brainer," it does bring into the public eye the issue of how employers managing returning cancer survivors in the workplace can be far more complicated.
Dive Insight:
Cancer survivors are considered "disabled" under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) because they have a "record of disability." The designation can be complicated for employers where the employee, after returning from treatment, continues to miss work.
Author Joshua Sudbury, of the Ford & Harrison law firm, provides the experience of one hospital employer in handling the return of an employee who had undergone successful treatment of skin cancer. Within a month of returning to work, the employee was frequently absent. The hospital eventually terminated the employee for no call/no show on three consecutive days. In the end, the EEOC filed suit on behalf of the employee claiming disability discrimination and a court allowed the case to proceed to trial.
While employers should never make decisions based solely on the employee's condition, he adds, they do have to act if the employee is unable to perform necessary duties. In the end, he advises that it is best to contact corporate counsel or other trusted professionals to discuss a proper and legal plan of action.
