Employment & Labor Insider

EEOC allegations ring true. Continue Reading ›

I’d call this “reasonable accommodation for dummies,” but y’all aren’t dumb. Continue Reading ›

Accommodate, accommodate, accommodate!

I started practicing law two years before Congress enacted the Americans with Disabilities Act (1990), and four years before it took effect (1992 for larger employers, 1994 for smaller ones). Continue Reading ›

Mayday! Mayday! Continue Reading ›

You better watch out. Continue Reading ›

Don't be this employer. (Allegedly.) Continue Reading ›

Easy? Ha! Continue Reading ›

If you follow these, you should be in great shape. Continue Reading ›

These steps could help keep you out of trouble. Continue Reading ›

Was that impolite? Continue Reading ›

About time! Continue Reading ›

How does the ADA work for pro athletes? Continue Reading ›

Nothing you wouldn't already have figured out. Continue Reading ›

Morals based on a real court decision. Continue Reading ›

Will the Court be opening the floodgates? Continue Reading ›

This is a G-rated post. PG at worst. Continue Reading ›

Pregnancy and lactation accommodation. Continue Reading ›

The court punted. Continue Reading ›

Remember faxes? I don't. Continue Reading ›

Fictional, but based on a true story. Continue Reading ›

And, for that, we should be grateful. Continue Reading ›

While still complying with the ADA. Continue Reading ›

Idle speculation as employers await the actual guidance. Continue Reading ›

Happy days are here again! Continue Reading ›

... and have been asking about for months. Continue Reading ›

Can employers breathe easy now? Continue Reading ›

Before the coming crackdown. Continue Reading ›

Here are some suggestions for making it painless. Continue Reading ›

And employers will like it. Continue Reading ›

My best guess is yes. Continue Reading ›

In honor of Veterans Day, here's a summary of employment laws that protect you. Continue Reading ›

The EEOC updated its guidance this week. Continue Reading ›

An easy-to-read guide that works for all employees using legal meds.* Continue Reading ›

The EEOC clarifies its position on COVID-vulnerable employees. Continue Reading ›

National origin, race, age, pregnancy -- and coronavirus. Continue Reading ›

And my best guesses as to the answers. Continue Reading ›

Welcome to the future. Continue Reading ›

Take care of yourself! Continue Reading ›

A fun way to while away your time until the weekend officially arrives. Continue Reading ›

Employers, are you ready to accommodate Wiccans? Continue Reading ›

This case makes my head hurt. Continue Reading ›

A new lawsuit filed by the EEOC is a good guide for employers on what not to do. Continue Reading ›

The court found in favor of the plaintiff, holder of a medical marijuana card. Continue Reading ›

And the ex-employee gets a jury trial. Continue Reading ›

Pow! Pow! Pow! Continue Reading ›

Here is a judge an employer can love. Continue Reading ›

Here are 10 questions to help you think it through. Continue Reading ›

A residential care provider has settled an EEOC lawsuit alleging failure to accommodate an employee's pregnancy. Continue Reading ›

How much do you know about an employer’s reasonable accommodation obligations under the law(s)? Take this quiz and find out!

Question 1: Which of the following federal employment laws require reasonable 

accommodation, either by their terms or as courts have interpreted them over the years?

A. The Americans with Disabilities Act

B. The Family and Medical Leave Act

C. Title VII-religion

D. The Nursing Mothers Act

E. The Pregnancy Discrimination Act

F. All of the above

G. A, C, D, and E

ANSWER: G. The FMLA does not require reasonable accommodation, but all of these other laws do. And there is some overlap between the FMLA and pregnancy or disability accommodation because leave for pregnancy or disability can be a form of reasonable accommodation. Continue Reading ›

This week, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit held that a “multimonth leave of absence is beyond the scope of a reasonable accommodation” under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

In doing so, the court rejected longstanding guidance from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission that a long-term medical leave is a reasonable accommodation when the leave is (1) definite and time-limited (not open ended); (2) requested in advance; and (3) likely to enable the employee to perform the essential job functions on return. Noting that under the EEOC’s position “the length of leave does not matter,” the court characterized it as an “open-ended extension” of leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act. Continue Reading ›

How much can you do - and not do - about your employees' personal appearance and grooming? Take this quiz and find out! As usual, I'll have the answers at the end, so if you get one wrong, no one but you will know.

QUESTION 1: If I operate in a jurisdiction that doesn't have a law against appearance discrimination, I can make any rules about appearance and grooming that I want. 

TRUE

FALSE

QUESTION 2: My employees are required by OSHA to wear masks on the job. The masks are no good unless there is a proper seal around the employee's mouth and nose. Since facial hair prevents a good seal from forming, we have a no-beard policy. I have one employee who is Sikh and wears a beard for religious reasons. What should I do?

A. Let him keep his beard and pray that the mask will work without the proper seal.

B. Tell him he has to shave the beard off or lose his job.

C. Meet with him and explain that the mask is required by OSHA and the safety rationale for the rule. Talk with him about reasonable accommodations, which might include use of a different type of mask that works with a beard, or transfer to another position that doesn't require use of a mask. After you've talked and perhaps consulted with vendors or safety experts, make a determination of what to do that won't violate the law or endanger his safety while accommodating his beliefs as much as you can. Continue Reading ›

No more pencils, no more books, no more teacher's dirty looks . . . except for one little quiz on employment law issues that come up during the summer. Continue Reading ›