A '100% healed' policy is 100% wrong.

When employees return to work after an illness or injury, don't require them to prove they are fully healed before you allow them to come back. That could constitute an automatic violation of the ADA. Such 100%-healed policies have been consistent losers in court.

At issue: Employees who aren't fully healed may still be disabled, meaning they'd be entitled to reasonable accommodations to perform their jobs, such as light-duty work or additional leave.

Recent case: A Minnesota payroll company had a 100%-healed policy for employees returning from medical leave. Following knee surgery, an employee was cleared by her doctor to return to work on...