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The Employer Handbook BlogA 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
Articles Posted in Discrimination and Unlawful Harassment
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
The nerds, err, readers have spoken! I’ll see you on Zoom on Wednesday (12/30) at Noon Eastern.
working hours by ProSymbols from the Noun Project
Yesterday, I put out some feelers — Title VII friendly ones — to gauge interest in hosting “The Employer Handbook Office Hours” on Zoom tomorrow. And I was overwhelmed by the reader emails, fresh-baked cookies, and cryptocurrency. So, we’re on for tomorrow at Noon EST. Continue reading
Pink slips for seven plant managers who ran bets on how many employees would get COVID-19
Image by Aidan Howe from Pixabay
So, did you vote in Jon Hyman’s Worst Employers of 2020 poll?
I would have voted for the company accused of having plant managers that organized a cash buy-in, winner-take-all betting pool for supervisors and managers to wager how many employees would test positive for COVID-19. 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
Can your business dodge an EEOC discrimination claim by closing and opening under a new name?
Image by GraphicMama-team from Pixabay
If you got to this page via Google, please don’t call or email me. 😉
Continue reading
For how much did one of the most important employment cases of 2020 just settle?
Image by Mike Braun from Pixabay
On June 15, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Bostock v. Clayton County that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which makes it unlawful for employers to discriminate based on sex, also prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation and transgender status. It was a landmark opinion.
One of the actions consolidated into the Bostock action was EEOC v. R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes. The EEOC argued specifically that Title VII prohibits discrimination based on transgender status. On November 30, 2020, it settled.
And I’ve got all the details for you. Continue reading