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The Employer Handbook BlogWhat do you do when you suspect that an employee’s doctor note is 🐄💩???
Whoa! Slow down! There’s an unusual amount of smoking billowing from the blog servers.
Let me check on this, and I’ll be right back. Continue reading
Articles Posted in Disability
What an NBA coach can teach us about mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic
Image by 1shortdesign from Pixabay
A few weeks ago, one of the EEOC Commissioners asked me what more the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission could do to assist the HR community.
Right at the top of my list was a request for additional guidance on how businesses can help employees struggling with mental health during the pandemic. It will be one of the biggest HR issues of 2021.
Come on, EEOC!!! Can employers incentivize COVID-19 shots? We need to know! (ASAP!)
Image Credit: The Noun Project
On Monday, several business groups, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and The Society for Human Resource Management, wrote this letter to Charlotte Burrows, the new Chair of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
There’s just one thing they’ve got to know! Continue reading
Pot for Shots: Folks, there’s a new trend to incentivize COVID-19 vaccinations. It’s marijuana?!? 🌿
Image by Hayley Zacha from Pixabay
I wonder if, in light of their recently-proposed rules, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission would consider a joint a small enough incentive from employers to encourage their employees to participate in a company wellness program.
A federal court just greenlit the failure-to-accommodate claim of a medical marijuana user. But why?!?
Oh, I was just asking. I thought you knew. Continue reading
Before your business rewards employees for getting the COVID-19 vaccine, read this. (It may save you a lawsuit.)
Image by Shafin Al Asad Protic from Pixabay
According to a recent SHRM survey, most companies will encourage employees to get the COVID-19 vaccine — but not require it. Many employers, like this one, may even incentivize employees to get the vaccine by offering them money or extra PTO days to get the needle.
But, if you’re thinking about doing something similar, slow your roll. According to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), you may end up unwittingly violating the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Continue reading
Brand new DOL guidance and the rest of what’s on tap for today’s “Zoom Office Hour” at Noon EST
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JMacPherson from Calgary, Canada, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
I won’t judge you if you don’t judge me. 🤐 Continue reading
“Let’s upstage The Employer Handbook by releasing our vaccine guidance” — EEOC, possibly
Image by OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay
Approximately 6 hours and 37 minutes after my blog post yesterday about “Preparing for Exceptions To Your Business’s COVID-19 Vaccine Program” went live, I received an email from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
It read something like this: Continue reading
Preparing for Exceptions To Your Business’s COVID-19 Vaccine Program
Image by Shafin Al Asad Protic from Pixabay
I was in The Zone yesterday. Continue reading
The ADA does not require accommodating medical marijuana use. But, what about synthetic THC?
Image by Erin Stone from Pixabay
The Americans with Disabilities Act requires an employer to provide reasonable accommodation to qualified individuals with disabilities who are employees or applicants for employment, except when such accommodation would cause an undue hardship.
In the history of ADA, I don’t know of any court that has concluded that an employer must accommodate an employee’s use of medical marijuana. That’s because, federally, marijuana is still an illegal drug. (It’s on the Schedule One list). But, what about accommodating someone who uses medically-prescribed synthetic marijuana to treat the symptoms of an underlying disability? Continue reading