Consent Decree: Days Inn & Conference Center Tulsa
EEOC Creates Resource Guide on Disabled Individuals for Employers
WorkersCompensation.com
At a Summit on Disability and Employment, the White House announced a new guide for employers related to the employment of disabled individuals, created by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The resource guide, Recruiting, Hiring, Retaining, and Promoting People with Disabilities, provides employers with technical assistance tools in a question-and-answer format. The resource guide also identifies federal resources for employers interested in recruiting, hiring, retaining, and promoting disabled individuals. It is also intended to answer common questions from employers related to the employment of disabled individuals. The helpful guide is divided into four sections as follows:
- Best Practices for Recruiting Candidates with Disabilities;
- Best Practices for Respecting, Retaining and Promoting Employees with Disabilities;
- Best Practices for Providing Reasonable Accommodations;
- The Legal Framework.
Fair Employment Act Covers 'Perceived Disabilities'
Connecticut Law Tribune
In Desrosiers v. Diageo North America, the court held on Dec. 16, 2014, that Connecticut's Fair Employment Practices Act, Conn. Gen. Stat. §46a-51 et. seq. (CFEPA) protects individuals who may not have a "disability" as defined by the statute but are perceived or "regarded as" having such a disability by their employer. As a result, Connecticut avoided joining only 10 other states whose anti-discrimination laws do not extend to individuals who are perceived by their employers as having a disability.
The impact of Desrosiers cannot be fully grasped without first discussing the vagaries of the definition of "disability" under the state and federal anti-discrimination laws.
The American with Disabilities Act (ADA), adopted in 1990, defines the term "disability" as (1) a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities; (2) a record of such an impairment; and (3) being regarded as having such an impairment. 42 U.S.C. §12102(l).
Legislation Allowing Service Animals on School Buses Gets Final Approval
Patch.com
The bill was approved by a vote of 36-0. The Assembly approved it 73-0 in November. It now heads to the Governor’s desk.
Lawyer gave woman ADA suit targets, ex-boyfriend says
Modesto Bee
A list of some of the 22 businesses sued by Aurora Cervantes in Atwater, Merced and Turlock.
Is Refusing to Hire Smokers Workplace Discrimination?
JD Supra
A growing number of U.S. employers are opting not to hire applicants who smoke in an effort to create a healthier workplace and reduce costs. These decisions appear justified when considering the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) estimates smokers cost employers approximately $193 billion a year in increased health care costs and lost productivity. The CDC also names smoking as the leading cause of preventable death, illness and disability in the U.S., responsible for 443,000 premature deaths each year. Despite these statistics, privacy-rights advocates, like the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), claim such employment policies not only constitute discrimination, but set a very dangerous precedent.
Sick Child's Medical Bills: Not a Smart Reason to Fire
Corporate Counsel
Aside from wanting to be a decent person, there is now another reason not to fire an employee with an extremely sick child over high medical bills. Liz Overton of Sullivan & Ward writes about a case from the Northern District of Iowa in which an employer allegedly fired one of its best employees because his sick child’s medical bills were driving up company insurance premiums.
Employee who quit during interactive process cannot pursue ADA claim
EmployerLINC
A federal appeals court recently decided against an employee who failed to satisfy her obligation to cooperate in the interactive process with her employer when searching for a reasonable accommodation for her disability. The case was filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) on behalf of Pamela Manning, alleging that her former employer, Kohl’s Department Stores, Inc., had denied Manning an accommodation and constructively discharged her in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The EEOC claimed that Kohl’s had given Manning no alternative but to quit when the retailer rejected her request to work a particular modified schedule. However, the court found in favor of the employer.
A Quarter-Century Later, How Does the ADA Hold Up?
The Moderate Voice
Anchorage woman finds frustration with definition of service dogs
KTVA.com
As more people bring dogs into businesses, like stores and restaurants, and claim them as service dogs, there is growing confusion about what that really means. It is one of the most confusing issues covered under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) — or at least the one that gets questioned most often.