THE LAW AND ASTHMA PROBLEMS IN THE WORKPLACE: WHAT EMPLOYERS NEED TO KNOW

Asthma is a growing societal and industrial problem in the United States. Asthmatic employees cause many disruptions and lost productivity in the workplace due to their unexpected and frequent absences. Should the problem persist employers will want to take actions such as progressive discipline to correct the situation. However, companies must be aware of the various legal pitfalls they will encounter along the way. Asthmatic workers are covered by various federal and state disability and family leave laws. This article discusses the ramifications of these laws primarily from a federal legal perspective (Americans with Disabilities Act and Family Medical Leave Act) when dealing with an asthmatic employee. There are currently about 17 million asthma sufferers in the United States [1]. This represents a 26 percent rise over 1993-1994, and the number is expected to continue to rise [1]. Once thought of as just a childhood disease, asthma is striking adults at an alarming rate [2]. In fact, reported cases among adults have more than doubled over the past 20 years [2], and as many as 15 percent of all asthma cases may be traced to on-the-job irritants [3]. This can lead to many unforeseen absences from work. Asthma also poses serious problems for employers in terms of having to cover the job, overtime, administrative hassles, loss of job continuity, and even lost production and sales. In fact, annual national treatment for asthma costs on a national basis is over 6 billon dollars [4]. Employers who take affirmative steps