Legal Question in Employment Law in Massachusetts

I've worked at the same Publishing Company for 30 yrs. now.and In 1999 my Doctor requested I be taken off the 3rd shift due to medical issues I'd developed working the 11pm - 7 am shift. The Company was bought and sold and currently we are building a new facility. In the event a shift change arises, do I have any rights under Massachusetts Labor Laws? Is a Doctors written request binding? Would I have to work a 3rd shift if requested by my employer?


Asked on 4/25/16, 3:29 am

1 Answer from Attorneys

J. Whitfield Larrabee J. Whitfield Larrabee

I take it that you are presently not working the 3rd shift, but, you are concerned that you might be asked by the new employer to work this shift. In the event that you are asked to work the 3rd Shift, you might be able to ask a reasonable accommodation of your disability if the medical problem you mentioned amounts to a disability. If the request for a shift change was a reasonable modification in that it was plausible or feasible for the employer to make the accommodation without undue hardship, expense or fundamental alteration of the workplace, and the modification would enable you to work notwithstanding your disability, then it is likely that the employer would be obligated to allow you not to work 3rd Shift. The ADA specifically contemplates that in some instances shift changes might be necessary to accommodate employee's disabilities. "The term `reasonable accommodation' may include � (A) making existing facilities used by employees readily accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities; and (B) job restructuring, part-time or modified work schedules, reassignment to a vacant position, acquisition or modification of equipment or devices, appropriate adjustment or modifications of examinations, training materials or policies, the provision of qualified readers or interpreters, and other similar accommodations for individuals with disabilities." 42 U.S.C. � 12111(9)(B) (2005).

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Answered on 4/25/16, 2:11 pm


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