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The Employer Handbook BlogThis guy didn’t need an accommodation to perform his job. He wanted one to avoid discipline.
Today, I will tell you about an employee caught sleeping on the job.
Several times. Continue reading
Articles Posted in Disability
Man tests positive for marijuana, blames it on his lip balm, and doubles down with an ADA lawsuit.
Yesterday, I wrote about how the DEA’s move to ease restrictions on marijuana would change the ADA landscape for employers by requiring accommodations for employees with disabilities who use medical cannabis to treat.
For now, however, marijuana remains a Schedule One drug. So, the Americans with Disabilities Act does not protect individuals with actual disabilities who lose their jobs for testing positive because the ADA does not protect individuals engaging in “the illegal use of drugs” within the meaning of the statute.
But what if the employee does not have an actual disability? Continue reading
With the DEA reportedly ready to ease restrictions on marijuana, the ADA landscape changes for employers
Last week, the Associated Press reported that the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration would move to reclassify marijuana (cannabis), moving it from Schedule I, where it’s currently listed with heroin and LSD, to Schedule III, with as less dangerous doctor-prescribed drugs like (Tylenol with codeine) and testosterone. Continue reading
Court to employers: Don’t wait too long to arbitrate employments claims
A recent federal appellate court decision is an important reminder to confirm early—not later—whether the employee suing your business signed an arbitration agreement. Continue reading
“This case illustrates why the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) exists.”
Imagine being an employer-defendant and reading that sentence as the lede in a court’s summary judgment opinion.
Ouch! Continue reading
Generally, an employer’s duty to accommodate takes more than an employee merely disclosing a disability
In a recent Fourth Circuit decision, the plaintiff learned this lesson the hard way. Continue reading
An employer settled claims it refused to accommodate a pregnant worker who then miscarried
“Miscarriages can be personally devastating. No one should have to choose between getting the pregnancy care they need and losing a job.” Continue reading
An employer that fired an employee for a positive marijuana test may have discriminated against him too.
Right or wrong, an honest belief may be all it takes to proffer a nondiscriminatory reason for an adverse employment action. Continue reading
How do we help an employee who blurts obscenities and racial slurs to our customers uncontrollably?
Recently, I read a recent federal appellate court decision involving an employee with a rare form of Tourette Syndrome that caused him to use obscenities and racial slurs. While that could be dicey around coworkers, this employee’s job required excellent customer service skills while making deliveries and interacting with said customers.
And that’s when things got complicated.
145,000 reasons not to tell an employee they have “old-timers disease.”
Also, it is a bad idea to give that same employee a “retire-or-be-fired” ultimatum shortly after they return from bypass heart surgery. Continue reading