Are smokers in a protected class? Can a company refuse to hire them? After all, studies have repeatedly shown that smokers have higher absenteeism, are less productive and carry higher healthcare costs than non-smokers....more
Title VII’s protections against sex discrimination extend to transgender workers, even in the face of a challenge based on the employer’s religious rights, a federal appellate court has held....more
3/27/2018
/ Civil Rights Act ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Freedom of Religion ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Gender Identity ,
Gender Neutral ,
Hiring & Firing ,
LGBTQ ,
Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Orientation ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Title VII ,
Transgender
A second federal appellate court has ruled that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act prohibits employers from discriminating against employees based on their sexual orientation. The ruling is in line with the EEOC’s...more
3/2/2018
/ Civil Rights Act ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Employment Litigation ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Gender Identity ,
Gender Neutral ,
Hiring & Firing ,
LGBTQ ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Orientation ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Title VII ,
Transgender
Employers have a duty to preserve information that is potentially relevant to anticipated or existing litigation and failure to comply with that duty can have dire consequences. As such, issuing a litigation hold should be at...more
After a measles outbreak at Disneyland spread to 134 Californians and residents in six other states and two other countries, California adopted a law removing “personal belief” exemptions from vaccinating children in public...more
9/26/2017
/ Civil Rights Act ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Flu Shot Rule ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Long Term Care Facilities ,
Nursing Homes ,
Public Health ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Religious Discrimination ,
Skilled Nursing Facility ,
Title VII ,
Vaccinations
A job description identifying essential job functions can be an employer’s best friend—if drafted correctly. Two recent cases illustrate the importance of accurate job descriptions.Eddy Reyes was a sales representative for a...more
Disclosure of medical confidential information can result in a Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) interference claim, even when the employer does not actually interfere with the employee’s right to take FMLA leave. So held a...more
Let’s face it: work can be stressful. So what’s an employer to do when an employee requests a stress-free or less stressful work environment as an accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act? As always, it...more
How do employers reconcile automatic drug-testing required by workers’ compensation laws with the provisions of OSHA’s new Rule saying that automatic testing could be retaliatory? Following our recent blog on that issue, many...more
Do you automatically drug-test after all work-related injuries or accidents? If so, you should change your policy immediately in light of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s new reporting Rule, which went into...more
Employers might want to wander right now into their office break rooms to review the legal rights posters on display to be sure they are current and accessible. Failure to comply with posting requirements will cost employers...more
Employers should be specific in position statements they submit to the EEOC, and must recognize that those position statements and supporting documents will now routinely be sent to the charging party for further response,...more
In order to satisfy the Family and Medical Leave Act’s “overnight stay” requirement, an employee must be in the hospital “for a substantial period of time from one calendar day to the next calendar day as measured by the...more
Employers should be aware of the new electronic cigarette fad, and the need to address workplace policies accordingly.
Electronic cigarettes, also known as e-cigarettes, are battery-powered devices that heat up...more