The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) recently updated and expanded its guidance regarding the COVID-19 pandemic and federal anti-discrimination laws, including the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act (“Title VII”). The guidance, initially issued in December of 2020, covers communicating with employees regarding their COVID-19 diagnosis or
New EEOC Guidance Tackles Employee ADA Rights and Opioid Use
The EEOC has issued new guidance about the rights of employees under the Americans with Disabilities Act as it relates to an employee’s opioid use, addiction, or past addiction. The guidance applies to use of a variety of opioids, whether they are prescription drugs, illegal drugs, or substances that can be prescribed to help treat
NJ Legislation to Expand Accommodations for Breastfeeding Employees Proposed
Earlier this year, New Jersey enacted a law to protect breastfeeding employees and require employers to provide certain accommodations to breastfeeding employees.
Notably, this law required reasonable accommodations as a general matter but also noted that reasonable accommodation “shall include reasonable break time each day to the employee and a suitable room or other location
Volvo Reaches $70k Settlement in Disability Discrimination Suit After Refusing to Hire Applicant on Suboxone
Volvo Group North America, LLC will pay $70,000 and institute a three-year consent decree to resolve a federal disability discrimination suit brought by the U.S. Equal Opportunity Employment Commission (EEOC).
According to the suit, Volvo made a conditional job offer to a qualified applicant for a laborer position at its Hagerstown, Maryland facility. The applicant,
New York City Enacts New “Cooperative Dialogue” Requirements for Workplace Accommodations
Several recent New York City human rights law amendments in the past year have steadily increased worker protections applicable to New York City employers. As is no surprise, the mayor’s office recently adopted yet another new amendment passed by the New York City Council amending the New York City Human Rights Law (NYCHRL) effective October
Ain’t No Mountain High Enough: West Virginia Passes Medical Marijuana Law
On April 19, 2017, West Virginia Governor Jim Justice signed a bill legalizing the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes. With the passage of Senate Bill 386, West Virginia becomes the 29th state to adopt a medical marijuana law.
Employers need not panic. This does not mean you have to ignore your employee toking
Eighth Circuit Holds That Employer’s Duty To Engage in Reasonable Accommodation Discussions Can Be Inferred from Circumstances
Bill Egan writes:
Under the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA), a covered employer must provide reasonable accommodations to disabled employees, unless doing so would cause an undue hardship on the employer. Generally, an employer’s duty to reasonably accommodate is initiated by a request for an accommodation from a disabled employee or someone speaking on the
New EEOC Guidance Details ADA Effects on Employer Leave Policies
In newly published guidance, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) discusses employer leave policies and the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”). This guidance is significant for a number of reasons. First, ADA-related developments feature prominently in the EEOC’s most recent enforcement plan.
Yet Another Health Care Provider Must Pay For Failing To Accommodate Disability
An Albuquerque nursing home was sued by the EEOC earlier this year for allegedly violating the ADA. It has now agreed to settle for $145,000. (Link: http://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/newsroom/release/12-2-14a.cfm).
An employee with diabetes and a heart condition requested “a reasonable accommodation” – an eight-hour day instead of a longer one. Instead, the EEOC said, the company fired
Critical Care Hospital Which Fired Nurse Who Needed Chemotherapy Settles With EEOC
If you were a critical care hospital would you fire a nurse with cancer who asked for an accommodation to get chemotherapy? Even if you had meritorious grounds, would you do it, given the stark appearance of an ADA violation, as well as the horrendous publicity?
We wrote about such a case in a post