In my 27 years of practicing labor and employment law, I have
observed a number of repeated preconceptions and points that in my
humble opinion are simply wrong. I am not arguing that everyone, or
even most people, believes all of these points. However, they have
been uttered frequently enough for me to conclude that many share
these views. I am also not rejecting the notion that there is
legitimate debate as to some of this conventional wisdom.
With those disclaimers, here are my Top 10 instances of false
conventional wisdom:
1. Disabled employees are not entitled to special treatment: Of
course they are. Non-disabled employees are not entitled to
accommodations. Reasonable accommodations can involve all sorts of
special treatment, from the elimination of certain job duties to
time off, transfers, special equipment and tools, etc. It is true
that you can require disabled employees to satisfactorily perform
the essential functions of their job, just like everyone
