Image Credit: Pixabay.com If that ugly pink jawn looks familiar, (1) you must have recognized him from a previous post on this blog, (2) you’re creeping me out, but (3) thank you for reading my blog. Back in May, I wrote about an Americans with Disabilities Act lawsuit that the…
Image Credit: Pixabay.com It’s been a while since we addressed the legalization of medical marijuana in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and what that means for employers. It was about two years ago to be precise. Last October, I presented on this topic at the SHRM Lehigh Valley “annual” October Conference. …
Image Credit: Pexels.com Sometimes, the blogging gods lob me a softball. And when that happens, I know what to do. The Americans with Disabilities Act requires an employer to accommodate an individual with a disability where, absent undue hardship to the employer, doing so will enable that person to perform the essential…
Image Credit: Photofunia.com Over the Summer, I blogged here about the Seventh Circuit’s decision in Severson v. Heartland Woodcraft, Inc. (opinion here). In Severson, the Court concluded that “a multimonth leave of absence is beyond the scope of a reasonable accommodation under the ADA….Simply put, an extended leave of absence does not give a disabled…
Image Credit: Pexels.com Bet you weren’t expecting that, were you? No, peacocks can’t fly…commercial. Several news outlets are reporting that a major US airline refused to allow an emotional-support animal to board a plane at Newark Airport this weekend with its human companion. Daniella Silva’s quip from her report on…
Image Credit: Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Trileptal_tablets.jpg) CC BY-SA 3.0, Link One of your potential hires just completed a five-panel drug test as a condition of employment, and he tested positive for opioids. What do you do? Did your company violate the law by using a drug screen that detects opioids? No. It didn’t.…
Image Credit: danielle_blue on Flickr (https://www.flickr.com/photos/82705783@N00/101958911) CC BY-SA 2.0, Link Okayyyyyy! Oh, hold up. Not that Holy Grail. Back in September, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals gift-wrapped an FMLA opinion for local employers. I blogged about it here. In Severson v. Heartland Woodcraft, Inc. (here), the Seventh Circuit held that “a multimonth…
Image Credit: photofunia.com Here’s a reminder from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for employers to think twice about setting a deadline on an employee’s accommodation request. For example, last week the EEOC announced that it had settled a religious accommodation lawsuit against a North Carolina hospital. According to the…
Image Credit: Photofunia.com Most discrimination lawsuits involve a single, individual plaintiff and, on the other side of the “v,” a company as the sole defendant. But, sometimes, that plaintiff will name additional individual defendants too, such as a manager, supervisor, or even someone from Human Resources. When that happens, what…
Image Credit: Photofunia.com For Amber Bridges, a former City of Indianapolis employee, it allegedly got her fired. But, that didn’t stop her from filing an Americans with Disabilities Act lawsuit. Now, I know what you’re thinking, “Spraying air fresheners around a co-worker with body odor seems a bit passive-aggressive.” “What…