We have an employee who passed out in the workplace due to a serious heart condition – can we require a full duty release before we allow her back?

The answer is almost always no.  The American’s With Disabilities Act (ADA) is all about accommodation and a fully duty release requirement does not demonstrate any effort to accommodate an employee.  Even in extremely safety-sensitive workplaces, the employer has an affirmative obligation to see if it can accommodate a disabled employee by engaging in what is known as the “interactive process.”  A full duty release requirement ignores that legal mandate and does not give the employer and employee an opportunity to determine if an accommodation is possible for a less than full duty release to return to work.