The Americans with Disabilities Act requires an employer to accommodate an employee with a disability, if doing so will enable that individual to perform the essential functions of the job. The exception is if the accommodation would create undue hardship for the employer. But when is that duty to accommodate…
According to a New Jersey appellate court, Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa can do it. Two years ago, a NJ trial court judge dismissed the claims of 22 female cocktail servers, also known as “BorgataBabes,” who claimed that they were victims of gender and weight discrimination. Borgata dictates that its BorgataBabes, both…
And when the employer practically admits as much at a deposition = hella-stupid retaliation Yet, that’s what apparently happened, as described in the recent Michigan federal court decision in Brown v. Oakland County. Before I discuss that decision, I have a little contest for you. There is a great* employment-law decision involving…
An alcoholic employee can present a number of tricky legal issues affecting the workplace. Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, there’s a certain dichotomy. That is, alcoholism is a disability under the Act. However, an employer can ban alcohol in the workplace and require that employees not be under the…
We’re talking full frontal here. And oddly, it took a federal appellate to figure this out. That is, a female plaintiff alleged that her male co-worker pulled out his penis three times (once to her and her co-worker, and two other times at work to other female co-workers…
One of my all-time favorite ADA cases — God, am I a dork — is Keith v. County of Oakland, which I previously blogged about here. It involves a deaf lifeguard who applies for a position at a public pool and what, accommodations, if any are reasonable to allow him…
Do you want the answer from me? Oh, this is awkward. I was literally asking you. But, ok, fine. I think that I can help. Friday’s post addressed a situation in which honoring a customer’s preference for a white delivery-person over a black delivery-person cost a box-store manager his job and…
It’s very well settled law that accommodating a customer’s preference to be serviced by employees of a particular race is, well, racist. A few weeks ago, this situation arose with a Lowe’s store in Virginia. A CBS affiliate reported (here) that a white Lowe’s customer refused to accept a delivery…
The SHRM blog does, silly. But, I can link to the preview (here) and the recap (here). Definitely check those out. Allen Smith, Manager of workplace law content at SHRM, and a host of others did a great job fielding questions about the ADA and FMLA issues that keep HR professionals up…
You might as well paint a huge bulls-eye on your business and open up your checkbook. This EEOC press release, announcing an Americans with Disabilities Act settlement with a senior living facility explains why: Brookdale Senior Living Communities, Inc. of Denver will pay $112,500 and furnish other relief to settle…