Q. "An employee regularly required to lift 50lbs now says they can only lift 25 due to an off-the-job injury. Can we terminate?"
Answer:
Possibly, but proceed with caution. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires employers that have 15 or more employees to provide accommodations to employees to enable them to perform the essential functions of their job unless doing so would create an undue hardship or create a direct threat.
Make sure that regularly lifting 50 pounds is actually an essential job function. If the job can be done without regularly having to lift 50 pounds, then it isn’t considered an essential function, and you can’t terminate the employee.
If regularly lifting 50 pounds is an essential function, you are required to engage with the employee to determine if a reasonable accommodation would enable them to perform that task.
Providing accommodation doesn’t mean they have to personally lift 50 lbs. It could mean enabling them to move the load with the use of a device, reassignment to a different position or, if the lifting limit is temporary, a leave of absence.