Perhaps you’ve gotten here because you’ve Googled ‘How long do I have to sue my employer for discrimination?” Either way, let’s discuss. I read this federal court decision last night, the inspiration for this post. It’s an action for age discrimination under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) and…
Articles Posted in Disability
Did disability bias motivate HR to fire an employee for sleepwalking into a colleague’s hotel bed?
Imagine getting the call sometime past midnight at an out-of-town national sales conference that you need to immediately investigate a complaint from an employee who says that his female co-worker has sleepwalked into a bed in his hotel room. That wasn’t on the SHRM-CP exam. Then again, no one forced…
How to fire an employee right after his FMLA expires . . . and win the retaliation lawsuit.
Hey, don’t judge me. You’re just as heartless reading this as I am writing it. The Family and Medical Leave Act gives eligible employees the right to take twelve weeks of job leave because of a serious health condition.” When his leave ends, an employer must reinstate an employee to…
By the time she made it to court, her discrimination and retaliation claims were D.O.A.
An individual who wants to bring federal disability discrimination and retaliation claims against an employer can’t just go right to court. No, courts would choke with employment lawsuits. Instead, she must first exhaust her administrative remedies at the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission by filing a charge of discrimination. But…
EEOC: Slow your roll before administering COVID-19 tests at work
On Tuesday, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission updated its COVID-19 guidance. I went ahead and redlined the changes for you. But the EEOC wants to call your attention specifically to the updated circumstances under which employers may test employers for COVID-19 at work: EEOC’s assessment at the outset of…
The ADA cheat sheet for accommodating disabilities of seasonal employees and interns
The muse for today’s post is whoever drafts the press releases for the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Last night, I read this one about a $70,000 settlement that the EEOC reached with a Colorado employer to resolve a lawsuit filed under the Americans with Disabilities Act. The EEOC alleged…
Could your business require medical exams for all workers returning from extended leave?
Some of you are clutching your pearls and mouthing, “God, I hope so.” Glass half full, I may be about to save you a call to your company’s employment lawyer. Glass half empty, you may be pretty screwed if the statute of limitations hasn’t already run on the potential Americans…
Here’s when you may have to accommodate an employee’s use of CBD
A few weeks ago, I blogged about a situation involving an employee who used CBD products and tested positive for marijuana at work. She claimed that the employer took into account her underlying disability when it terminated her employment and violated the Americans with Disabilities Act. The employer countered that…
These free resources can help you avoid disability discrimination claims when hiring using artificial intelligence
More employers now are using software, algorithms, and artificial intelligence to make smarter hiring decisions. There’s nothing inherently unlawful about that. Except, consider this. Maybe the algorithm intentionally or unintentionally “screens out” an individual with a disability, even though that individual can do the job with a reasonable accommodation. Tangentially, an…
Man missed deadline to file disability discrimination lawsuit by about 40 years. FORTY!!!
His claims were so old that they predate the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. Let’s see how his ADA lawsuit turned out. (Spoiler alert: Not well). I’d been meaning to blog about this Sixth Circuit decision for a while. Here are the relevant facts: In 1980, the plaintiff suffered…