Consent Decree: Augusta County, Virginia | Complaint
Settlement Agreement:
EEOC Nationwide Disability Discrimination Case Against Autozone to Proceed
The district court rejected the company's argument that EEOC did not conduct an adequate, "nationwide" investigation prior to filing suit. The company requested that the suit be limited to just three of the company's many retail stores as a result. According to its website, AutoZone operates several thousand stores in 48 states and Puerto Rico.
"[T]he Court may not inquire into the sufficiency of the EEOC's pre-suit investigation in order to 'limit' the scope of the litigation," the court stated in its order, which was written by U.S. District Judge Robert M. Dow, Jr. The order also cited the recent decision in Mach Mining, LLC v. EEOC, in which the Supreme Court stated that courts should not impose additional procedural requirements on such litigation beyond those established by Congress. The order explained, "this Court would be imposing extra procedural requirements if it required the EEOC to offer additional proof that 'its investigation was ... conducted on a nationwide basis.'"
EEOC Sues Randstad for Disability Discrimination
According to EEOC's lawsuit, April Cox, a recovering drug addict, has not used illegal drugs since being enrolled in a medically supervised rehabilitation program in 2011. She receives medically prescribed methadone as part of her ongoing, supervised drug rehabilitation treatment. In January 2015, she applied with Randstad in Timonium, Md., for a vacant production laborer position at one of the staffing agency's clients. Randstad's site manager told Cox she had enough experience to advance to the next part of the hiring process and requested that Cox provide a urine sample for a pre-employment drug text.
Psych exam of postal clerk justified by business necessity
The U.S. postal service was justified in requiring a mail clerk to undergo a psychological fitness-for-duty evaluation after she continued to be obsessed with a coworker whom she believed was receiving preferential treatment, held a federal district court in New York, granting summary judgment on her claim under the Rehabilitation Act that she was subjected to an unwarranted medical exam. The mail clerk had written numerous letters to management complaining about the coworker, including one that was 16 single-spaced pages, and refused to stop tracking the coworker’s movements. Her Title VII retaliation claim also failed. (Hanfland v Brennan, WDNY, October 16, 2015, Geraci, F.)
Jury sides with FedEx in ADA failure to accommodate case
Lexology
For those of you who think the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) means you have to do whatever a disabled employee wants, I bring good news from of all sources, a jury in California. This case had it all—an employee injured on the job, extended leave and, finally, the company’s decision to go ahead and fill the job and terminate the employee. Pretty scary facts in any jurisdiction, let alone California.
FMLA and ADA: When are independent medical examinations allowed?
HR.BLR.com
Both the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) often apply to employees who are seriously ill or injured. When this happens, employers may be required to grant leave and to accommodate the employee under both the FMLA and the ADA. This article series examines similarities and differences between the FMLA and ADA.
Disability-access lawsuits spark calls for legislation
TwinCities.com-Pioneer Press
A recent string of lawsuits targeting Minnesota businesses that allegedly are out of step with state and federal accessibility standards has business leaders and some disability advocates calling for new legislation.
The Minnesota Chamber of Commerce is working with the State Council on Disability and other groups to draft a proposal they plan to present during the 2016 legislative session. They hope to give business owners an opportunity to bring their facilities into compliance with the Minnesota Human Rights Act before a lawsuit could proceed.
More than 100 such lawsuits have been filed in Minnesota over the past year, the Chamber says, creating financial hardships for business owners who have to pay settlements, retrofit their businesses or both.
JD Supra
Can an employer simply ignore a request by a disabled employee for an accommodation made in a meeting that could lead to the employee’s termination? A recent federal case from Wisconsin says no. In the case, the former employee, who is legally deaf, was employed as a sales associate in a national retail store. A confrontation between the employee and two store managers, occurring during a meeting in which the employee requested an accommodation related to his participation in the meeting, led to the employee’s termination.
Study: Employers Discriminate Against Qualified Workers with Disabilities
News from Rutgers
Fictitious cover letters sent by researchers at Rutgers and Syracuse universities reveal employers are less likely to interview qualified applicants who disclose disabilities
United passenger who crawled off plane fighting for rights of disabled travelers
Fox News
Twenty five years after the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), D’Arcee Neal, a wheelchair-bound man with Cerebral Palsy, says more needs to be done—especially when it comes travel.
Metropolitan Corporate Counsel
In the last two years, we’ve seen outbreaks of no fewer than four major diseases. While some of the illnesses do not result from person-to-person contact (such as Legionnaires’ disease), many of them (like measles, Ebola and enterovirus) do. These diseases can cause a good deal of workplace disruption, and a number of major employment laws may be implicated when managing employee requests for time off to treat an illness. We’ll touch on this – and also discuss ways in which strong company policies can help smoothly manage these potential challenges should they unfortunately arise.