When Employee Disabilities Create Patient Safety Concerns: Navigating ADA Accommodation Requests in Healthcare Settings

Approved for 1.0 ASHRM CE

Healthcare organizations are increasingly challenged to balance their obligations to accommodate employees with disabilities while maintaining safe, high-quality patient care. This webinar explores the legal, regulatory, and risk management considerations that arise when an employee's requested accommodation may affect clinical duties, patient safety, or operational effectiveness. Through real-world healthcare scenarios, participants will learn practical strategies for conducting individualized assessments, engaging in the interactive process, documenting decisions, and collaborating with Human Resources, Occupational Health, Legal, and clinical leadership to reduce organizational risk while supporting an inclusive workplace.

Speakers: Judy Starr, J.D. and Emily Mahler, Esquire

SPEAKER BIOGRAPHIES

Judy Starr, J.D.
Deputy General Counsel
Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health

Judy Starr, J.D., is an attorney and longtime member of the legal team at Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health, one of the nation’s leading nonprofit providers of behavioral health and human services. Starr has devoted much of her professional career to legal matters involving behavioral health, disability services, healthcare, employment, risk management, and the operation of complex human-services organizations.

Starr has been associated with Devereux since at least 2005 and has served in progressively responsible legal roles within the organization. Publicly available professional information identifies her as Deputy General Counsel of Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health. 

In her capacity as in-house counsel, Starr has been involved in a broad range of legal and risk-management matters affecting Devereux including involvement in evaluating claims, coordinating with outside litigation counsel, addressing insurance and professional-liability issues, and advising Devereux personnel concerning litigation matters.

Starr also has experience addressing the legal and operational issues that arise in providing services to individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities and behavioral-health needs. She has participated as a presenter in programs conducted through the Rehabilitation and Community Providers Association (RCPA) concerning constituent engagement, youth advisory councils, and organizational approaches to incorporating the voices of individuals receiving services. In those programs, Starr has presented alongside Devereux's National Director of Family Engagement and has addressed legal and organizational considerations associated with these initiatives.

Her professional background combines legal training with substantial experience inside a large behavioral-health and human-services organization. 

With more than two decades of professional experience and many years serving in Devereux's legal department, Starr's  has a specialized focus on the intersection of law, healthcare, behavioral health, human services, and organizational risk. Her experience as an in-house attorney gives her particular familiarity with the practical challenges faced by nonprofit healthcare and human-services providers in managing legal claims, regulatory obligations, insurance issues, and organizational risk.

Education

Temple University Beasley School of Law — Juris Doctor (J.D.)
West Chester University of Pennsylvania — Master's degree

Professional Experience

Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health — Deputy General Counsel
Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health / The Devereux Foundation — Assistant Counsel / In-House Counsel, 

Areas of Professional Experience

Healthcare and behavioral-health law
Human-services organizations
Intellectual and developmental disabilities
Risk management and professional liability
Litigation management and coordination with outside counsel
Employment and workplace matters
Regulatory and compliance issues
Organizational governance and legal counseling
Constituent and family engagement
Nonprofit healthcare and human-services operations

Emily Mahler, Esquire
Partner, Margolis Edelstein

Emily Mahler is a partner in Margolis Edelstein’s Employment and Labor Law Group. She represents employers in labor and employment litigation, including claims involving discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wrongful discharge, breach of contract and wage disputes.

Emily represents corporations, small businesses, nonprofit organizations and public entities. She appears regularly in federal and state courts throughout Pennsylvania and New Jersey, as well as before the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission, and other state and local administrative agencies.

Emily also counsels employers on employment policies, employee discipline and terminations, as well as compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, Family Medical Leave Act, Fair Labor Standards Act, Fair Credit Reporting Act, Equal Opportunity Reporting Act, Truth in Lending and identity theft, and other state and federal regulations. She drafts and assists employers with implementation of employee manuals, policies and procedures. She also drafts and provides guidance on severance agreements, noncompete and confidentiality agreements. Emily also defends employers in claims involving workplace torts, including assault and battery, defamation and invasion of privacy.  A portion of Emily’s practice is devoted to housing discrimination matters as well.

In addition to her employment law practice, Emily is currently serving as the Chair of the Pennsylvania Board of Law Examiners. She is a certified mediator in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, a pro bono mediator for the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and a special master for the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, as well as an arbitration panelist for the Allegheny Court of Common Pleas.

Areas of Practice
Class Actions | Insurance Consulting | Labor & Employment | Professional Liability | Public Entity & Civil Rights

Education
Temple University James E. Beasley School of Law (J.D.)
Pennsylvania State University (B.A.)

Bar & Court Admissions
Pennsylvania
New Jersey
U.S. Supreme Court
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania
U.S. District Court, Middle District of Pennsylvania
U.S. District Court, Western District of Pennsylvania