When to File Employment Discrimination Claims in Federal Court
Law.com
When filing an employment discrimination lawsuit in Federal Court like the Western District of Pennsylvania, a thought typically crosses every attorney’s mind, which is what claims should be alleged in the Complaint?
The most common types of discrimination claims fall under three federal statutes: (1) the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, (2) the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 and (3) Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Independent contractor vs. employee: Were employment discrimination claims valid?
HR.BLR.com
The starting point for determining whether a company is in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), and the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is deciding whether there is an employer-employee relationship. Recently, a pathologist's filed discrimination claims against a hospital—but was he an employee?
Driver arguably fired on fourth day of leave advances FMLA, ADA claims (CCH Netnews)
Determining that a truck driver presented sufficient evidence that he was discharged during a telephone call with his manager on the fourth day of his medical leave due to chest pains, hypertension, and pneumonia, a federal district court in Iowa denied the employer’s motion for summary judgment on his claims of FMLA entitlement, disability bias, reprisal, and failure to accommodate. Although the employer argued that the manager did not fire the driver but that he was discharged two weeks later because he went “missing in action,” there was no evidence supporting its contention that it had tried to contact him several times after the phone call. ( Harris v CRST Van Expedited, Inc, NDIowa, November 26, 2014, Reade, L.)
EEOC fails to show decisionmaker knew of employee’s arthritis prior to layoff (CCH Netnews)
Rejecting the EEOC’s contention that an employer’s knowledge regarding the extent to which an employee’s arthritis affected her was irrelevant, a federal district court in Michigan explained that an employer must be aware of symptoms raising an inference of disability and that not every complaint of pain or statement relaying the medications an employee is taking necessarily creates such an inference. Because the EEOC failed to show that the employer knew about the employee’s alleged disability prior to terminating her one day after she requested leave, the court dismissed on summary judgment the agency’s claim that her termination violated the ADA. (EEOC v Detroit Community Health Connection, EDMich, November 26, 2014, Parker, L.)
Board Sponsored Study Examines Impacts of Rough Surfaces on Wheelchair Traffic
A study funded by the Board was recently completed on how the roughness of pathway surfaces impacts wheelchair travel. This research, which was conducted by the Human Engineering Research Laboratories at the University of Pittsburgh, assessed the impacts of bumpy and uneven surfaces on people who use wheelchairs, including power chairs, by measuring the resulting body vibrations. While there are ways to measure and analyze surface roughness for roadways, none are capable of being directly transferred to pedestrian pathways.