This week, I am on vacation. The Supreme Court didn’t get my memo. Fine. But, I’m not putting down my beer to write this post. So, you get a one-handed rundown of the two employment-law decisions the court issued yesterday.
Pardon my typos after the jump…
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Every so often, I get a call from an employee. The call goes something like this:
“I need an employment lawyer. Are you an employment lawyer?”
“Yes.”
Who would’ve guessed that, in June 2013, we’d have 11 states with social media privacy laws. I mean what are the odds? That’d be like Kanye West and Kim Kardashian deciding to name their baby daughter ‘North West’.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to check why my Twitter is blowing up.
Oh, good God!
DISCLAIMER: Since I’m getting the fodder for my post from RadarOnline (via the National Enquirer), consider the sources, and remember that what you are about to read are allegations. Plus, Ms. Deen’s team subsequently told Entertainment Tonight that Ms. Deen does not condone or find the use of racial epithets acceptable. So make of this what you will and don’t shoot them messenger…
Remember back when I reported here that a former employee of one of celeb chef Paula Deen’s restaurants had accused both Deen and her brother of race discrimination and sexual harassment? You’d expect that Ms. Deen would cast aside these “allegations” — especially the ones about her using the N-word and having black waiters perform as slaves at a wedding party — as slanderous accusations.
You’d expect that wouldn’t you?
It’s that time of year.
You’re hiring summer interns and I’m shaving a spoked B into my playoff beard looking for an excuse to recycle my six keys to keeping unpaid internships from becoming a hot wage & hour mess.
See what I just did there?
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) limits when an employer can require an employee to take a medical examination. Specifically, the ADA forbids employers from requiring medical exams (and cannot otherwise inquire into the nature or severity of a disability) unless the exam or inquiry is shown to be “job-related and consistent with business necessity.”
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) advises (here) that an exam is permissible where the employer “has a reasonable belief based on objective evidence, that: (1) an employee’s ability to perform essential job functions will be impaired by a medical condition; or (2) an employee will pose a direct threat due to a medical condition.”
So, let’s assume that you have an employee about whom you receive multiple reports of emotionally-erratic workplace behavior. At what pointy can you require that employee to seek counseling?
Biting the staff doesn’t help either; even if it doesn’t leave a mark.
You see, I couldn’t make this stuff up if I tried.
Barbara Joy McElmurry worked for the Arizona Department of Agriculture. In a Complaint she filed in federal court, she alleged that her supervisor forced her into a field work position in which she would not be able to drive vehicles because she was too short (4’10”). So, McElmurry asserted a claim for discrimination on the basis of disability, namely, her short stature.
So, could height (or lack thereof) be a disability?
Well, under the Americans with Disabilities Act, a person is disabled if she suffers from “a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of the major life activities of such individual.” An employer could also regard an employee as disabled, even if she isn’t; that too would bring the employee within the scope of the ADA.
When it comes to reasons for firing employees, I’ve heard some good ones in my day — and by good, I mean legitimate.
Conversely, the excuse I just read in the Seventh Circuit’s opinion in Hitchcock v. Angel Corps., Inc., a case involving a pregnancy discrimination claim, may be the worst. The worst one ever.
Angel Corps and its management staff feel that as a result of [the plaintiff’s] actions she compromised the health and safety of this client. According to policy and procedure this action will result in an immediate termination.
We are less than a week from the start of the SHRM Annual Conference & Exposition, which kicks off in Chicago on Sunday, June 16.
I will roll into town on Monday. My plan is to hit the House of Blues that night for The Official #SHRM13 TweetUp & Afterparty. Next day, I’ll be chugging hair of the dog shuttling between the Blogger’s Lounge and The HIVE, where I’ll ultimately set up shop and take your social media questions in the “Ask the Expert Session” at 10:30 AM.
The Employer Handbook Blog