No 'tough guys': Insist on medical restrictions.

If a doctor tells an employee he can only return to work with a certain medical restriction on his activities, make sure he doesn't work beyond those limitations. If he does, you have the right to discipline or even terminate him.

The ADA doesn't require employers to let disabled employees test the limits of their abilities in ways that may lead to injury.

Recent case: Garry broke his hip and underwent total hip replacement surgery. His doctor permanently restricted him to sedentary work. He wasn't allowed to do any lifting. So he left his job, which awarded him total disability benefits.

A couple years later, Garry took a fountain operator job at a Steak 'n Shake. It required him to stand, bend, stretch and walk. Occasionally he had to lift up to 30 pounds. Garry told the restaurant about his hip problems, but said he could lift 15 to 30 pounds. He never mentioned the medical restrictions.

It did not go well. He fell and began physical therapy through the company's workers' comp program. But his new doctors recommended that Garry's original no-lifting restrictions be reinstated. Steak 'n Shake terminated him.

He sued, alleging failure to accommodate his...