Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
Employees with qualifying disabilities may rely on a service and/or emotional support animal for a variety of reasons, and allowing them to do so at work may be considered a “reasonable accommodation” under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), provided the task performed by the animal is needed in the workplace, it’s directly related to […]
I know this sounds like a contradiction, but a Dallas court recently said it wasn’t. So, a Texas employer can be cleared of firing an employee because of his disability—despite the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA)—but still be liable for failing to provide a reasonable accommodation. The Dallas office of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission […]
A recent decision from the Iowa Court of Appeals should cause Iowa employers to hit pause on routine decisions relating to workers’ compensation claimants. The decision, Vetter v. Iowa Department of Natural Resources, effectively dismantled the definition of “disability” for disability discrimination claims.
Determining what is a reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is meant to be an interactive process between the employer and the employee. However, after exerting significant amounts of energy in the process, one Illinois employer got a reaction it had hoped to avoid—a lawsuit.
In a recent case, the court of appeal agreed with a public university, which also happens to be one of California’s largest employer, that certain laws regulating the retirement status and rights of peace officers do not apply to the university under its own retirement plan—even after the university reversed its own practice of complying […]
Terminated employees who sue often file claims for unlawful discrimination and breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing. Recently, the Alaska Supreme Court analyzed how a claim for breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing relates to a disability discrimination claim. The court also considered when evidence is sufficient […]
A new ruling from the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court should be a warning to employers in the state that refuse to tolerate medical marijuana use by employees with a disability.
The 2nd Circuit—which covers Connecticut, New York, and Vermont—recently heard claims that a pharmacy violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) when it fired a pharmacist, whose fear of needles prevented him from administering immunizations. Did the pharmacist have a claim for disability discrimination?
Question: We have an employee who is getting a service animal and wants to know our policy on it. What can we ask in terms of why he needs the animal? What rights do we have in terms of allowing the dog on the job site? We operate heavy equipment at the job site and […]
A lawsuit filed by the federal government alleging that the ability to contract Ebola is a disability is “nonsensical,” according to the Massage Envy franchisee defending the case.