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Some forms of ADA accommodation don’t directly affect essential job functions. Instead, they help employees manage their disabilities.

Employers can require employees accused of violence at work to take a drug test. But what happens if the test reveals the presence of marijuana in the system of an employee whose use of medical marijuana is authorized by state law?

The ADA requires employers to engage in an interactive process to figure out if a reasonable accommodation will let a disabled employee perform the essential functions of her job. The employer gets to choose the accommodation. If, after trying possible accommodations, the employee still can’t do her job, the employer can terminate her.

An employee with a medical issue may be disabled and entitled to reasonable accommodations but doesn’t have to request one. It’s enough that he lets someone in management know about the condition and requests a change in the workplace.

Most disability accommodations don’t cost much at all to provide. Penalties for violating the ADA by not accommodating an employee’s health needs can be expensive indeed.

Ever since the U.S. Supreme Court’s unanimous decision in Groff v. DeJoy, employees and their lawyers have been testing the limits on how far employers must go to accommodate religious beliefs and practices.

A recent Florida state court decision makes it clear that in that state, workers can’t be fired for the off-duty use of medical marijuana if the usage is related to a disability and the employee isn’t impaired when working.

For an hourly worker, more frequent milk-expression breaks can be unpaid if she’s completely relieved of work duties during pumping time. But what about making scheduling changes that may cut pay? According to a newly filed lawsuit, that’s not an appropriate approach.

Accommodations under the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act can look very familiar at first glance. The PWFA requires the same interactive process as the Americans with Disabilities Act and religious accommodation under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. The PWFA allows employers to reject specific accommodations if they can demonstrate an undue hardship. The similarity ends there.

Correcting slipping hygiene may be unpleasant, but it’s necessary. Reiterating company policies on dress and grooming should do the trick unless the problem runs deeper than relaxed standards. That’s where the Americans with Disabilities Act comes in.