Don't Dodge Sensitive Workplace Issues
Bloomberg BNA
The topic of sensitive workplace complaints arose Nov. 6 at the American Bar Association’s Labor and Employment Law Conference in Philadelphia. Stephanie Jones of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission led a panel discussion exploring how management and human resources personnel may effectively respond to employee complaints and accommodation requests.
Duckworth celebrates ADA's impact, calls for more measures to aid disabled
DuPage Policy Journal
Earlier this week, a quarter of a century after the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was originally signed into law, U.S. Rep. Tammy Duckworth (D-Dist. 8) spoke to hundreds of government and business leaders during the opening session of ADA 25 Chicago’s Disability Inclusion Opportunity Summit.
While celebrating the progress that has been made over the past 25 years, Duckworth also focused her remarks on the continued need for increased accessibility and other improvements to ensure equal opportunities for those living with disabilities in public transit, the workplace and education.
Feds: NC violated settlement over mental health services
WRAL.com
Officials from the U.S. Department of Justice told North Carolina leaders this month that the state isn't doing enough to help keep people with serious mental illnesses in their local communities and out of more restrictive housing.
In a Nov. 6 letter to Attorney General Roy Cooper and state Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Rick Brajer, the DOJ said the state was violating a 2012 settlement agreement and "must take significant corrective action" to avoid unnecessarily funneling the mentally ill into adult care homes. DHHS signed the settlement under Gov. Bev Perdue following a federal investigation into possible violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Lexology
Should employers ban the use of emojis? No. That’s not practical. The capability is built into nearly every mainstream electronic device. That would also not be great for employee morale. After all, everyone is doing it. And not all communications containing emojis are going to be inappropriate.
Should employers scrutinize all electronic communications in order to determine whether messages are truly in compliance with company policy? No. That’s not practical either. Nobody has time to do that while trying to run a business. This approach would also not be great for employee morale.
So what should employers do? Well, for starters, it would be prudent to highlight the emoji craze and remind employees thatall communications should be consistent with the company’s EEO policy. Although fun, using emoji in workplace communications can be inappropriate and result in legal liability.
Additionally, it might be worth giving communications a closer look if they contain cryptic emoji. After all, what may seem innocent or meaningless at first glance could amount to evidence of discrimination and/or harassment. When in doubt, just plug it into your search engine.
Cancer Survivors, Overweight Men May Face Job Discrimination
Philly.com
Cancer survivors could face discrimination when looking for work, and overweight men are just as likely as overweight women to face discrimination when job hunting, shopping or dealing with customers.
Those are the findings of two new studies published recently in the Journal of Applied Psychology by researchers from Rice University, Penn State and the University of North Carolina.