Discrimination, Disability | JD Supra Law News

$240M to Disabled Workers Abused in Company’s ‘House Of Horrors’

by Sylvia Hsieh | Lawyers.com on 5/6/2013

A turkey processing company has been ordered by a jury to pay a whopping $240 million for paying mentally disabled workers 41 cents per hour and housing them in a rodent-infested “house of horrors.”...more

HIV-Positive Patient Wins Suit Over Doc’s “Unreasonable Fear”

by Josh Crank | Lawyers.com on 4/29/2013

A California appeals panel has reversed a lower court verdict denying the claims of an HIV-positive woman whose surgery was canceled at the last minute by an anesthesiologist who was worried he might contract the disease....more

Does Partial Deafness Constitute a Disability Under the ADAAA? The Question Remains Unanswered

by Maria Greco Danaher | Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,... on 4/29/2013

A federal court in Pennsylvania recently dismissed a lawsuit filed by a female newspaper page designer who claimed that she was laid off because of her gender and her deafness in one ear. Mengel v. Reading Eagle Company, No....more

EEOC Sues Wal-Mart for Sexual Harassment, Retaliation and Disability Discrimination

by U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission... on 4/12/2013

Developmentally Disabled Walmart Employee in Akron Store Fired for Complaining About Sexual Touching, Federal Agency Charges - CLEVELAND - Wal-Mart Stores East, L.P. violated federal law by allowing a male employee...more

Take 5 Newsletter: EEOC Update; Intern Wage and Hour Claims; NLRB Quorum; Unemployment Discrimination; Social Media Passwords

by David Garland | Epstein Becker & Green, P.C. on 4/5/2013

EEOC Releases Letter Addressing Wellness Programs and Reasonable Accommodation Obligations - In a letter issued recently by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC"), Peggy Mastroianni, the agency's Legal Counsel,...more

Reinstatement Of Employment Ordered – A Decade After Disability Leave Commenced

by Catherine P. Coulter | Dentons on 4/3/2013

In a March 2013 decision that is likely to be challenged in the courts, the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal has ordered the reinstatement of an employee a decade after she went on disability leave, together with loss of wages...more

Are You Considering Conditioning A Job Offer On An Agreement That The Applicant's Disabled Dependent Won't Enroll In The Health...

by Beth Alcalde | Akerman Senterfitt on 4/3/2013

Traditional employment laws often interact with traditional employee benefit laws. One such example is the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)'s impact on employer-sponsored group health plans. As group health plan costs...more

Calling a Co-Worker “Stupid” Not Enough to Prove “Disability”, Court Says

by Daniel A. Schwartz | Pullman & Comley, LLC on 4/3/2013

With the changes to the ADA laws a few years back broadening the definition of a “disability”, there was some speculation (including on this blog) that we would not see very many instances where a court would throw out an ADA...more

Phoenix Now Prohibits Employers from Discriminating on the Basis of Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity or Expression, and...

by Kathryn Hackett King, Jennifer R. Phillips, Joshua Woodard | Snell & Wilmer L.L.P. on 3/16/2013

After more than five hours of heated debate and public discourse, the Phoenix City Council amended the Phoenix City Code on February 26, 2013 to ban discrimination in employment on the basis of “sexual orientation,” “gender...more

Employers Beware: Anything Short of a Robust Attempt to Engage in Interactive Process Might Preclude Summary Judgment

by Charlotte Wolfe | Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,... on 2/28/2013

Several recent cases in the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals remind employers that their obligation to engage in the interactive process is an increasingly onerous one. First, in Keith v. County of Oakland, No. 11-2276 (6th...more

Take A Deep Breath: Employers May Conduct Random Alcohol Tests

by Beth P. Zoller | XpertHR - Partnered with LexisNexis on 2/26/2013

A district court in Pennsylvania held that an employer may require probationary employees in safety sensitive positions to undergo random alcohol testing without violating the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) if it can...more

Federal Court Rejects ADA Suit Over Random Alcohol Testing of Probationary Plant Employees

by Amy Karff Halevy, Robert Nichols, Robert E. Sheeder | Bracewell & Giuliani LLP on 2/26/2013

A federal judge in Pennsylvania has dismissed an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission challenge to U.S. Steel Corporation's random alcohol testing of probationary employees at one of the company's most safety sensitive...more

REDC Default Solutions to Pay $50,000 to Settle EEOC Disability Discrimination Lawsuit

by U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission... on 2/22/2013

Company Fired Texas Woman Over Post-Stroke Condition, Federal Agency Charged - DALLAS - An Irvine, Calif.-based company will pay $50,000 and furnish other relief to settle a disability discrimination lawsuit brought by...more

Judgment Against AutoZone Affirmed in EEOC Disability Discrimination Case

by U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission... on 2/21/2013

Appeals Court Upholds Injunction and $415,000 Award to Disabled Former Employee - CHICAGO - The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has affirmed a $424,000 judgment (including $9,000 in costs) against AutoZone,...more

University of Maryland Faculty Physicians, Inc. Will Pay $92,500 to Settle EEOC Disability Lawsuit

by U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission... on 2/21/2013

Medical Practice Fired Employee Because of Her Crohn's Disease, Federal Agency Charged - BALTIMORE - University of Maryland Faculty Physicians, Inc. will pay $92,500 and furnish other relief to settle a disability...more

Employer Beware - Automatic termination policies are illegal. Just ask Sears.

by Michael Gamboli, Kimberly McCarthy, Alicia Samolis | Partridge Snow & Hahn LLP on 2/13/2013

Qualified employees with a disability are entitled to a reasonable accommodation from their employer to enable them to perform the essential functions of their job. One of the most difficult issues employers face is...more

California Adopts New Disability Discrimination Regulations

by Diane L. Kimberlin | Littler on 2/13/2013

Regulations proposed by California's Fair Employment and Housing Commission governing disability discrimination have been finalized after public comment and are now in effect. According to the Statement of Purpose, the...more

Amended Pregnancy Regulations Expand Protections for Employees Disabled by Pregnancy or Perceived as Pregnant

by Paul Bressan, Joshua Mizrahi | Buchalter Nemer on 2/11/2013

All California employers with five or more full- or part-time employees must comply with the California Fair Employment and Housing Commission’s (“FEHC”) amended pregnancy regulations that went into effect December 30, 2012....more

EEOC Sues Florida Construction Security Services for Disability Discrimination and Retaliation

by U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission... on 2/8/2013

Company Fired Employee for Not Wearing Prosthetic Arm, Federal Agency Charged - MIAMI - A Florida full-service asset protection security firm violated federal law by firing an employee because of his disability, a...more

Third Parties Don't Absolve Employers From ADA Obligations

by Melissa A. Silver | XpertHR - Partnered with LexisNexis on 2/8/2013

Employers in the 6th Circuit (Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee) should carefully consider the advice and opinions of third parties on whether an applicant can perform a job before withdrawing a conditional job offer, as...more

Labor Letter, February 2013: How To Weigh Obesity In Employment Decisions

by Jeff Weintraub | Fisher & Phillips LLP on 2/6/2013

Imagine you are the Hiring Manager for a distribution warehouse and have just begun interviewing applicants for a materials handler position. The first candidate enters the room, standing at a height of 5’4”, weighing more...more

Deaf Lifeguard Might Be Qualified To Notice Emergency Signs For Help

by Kyle P. Konwinski | Varnum LLP on 2/5/2013

Would you feel comfortable with your kids swimming in a pool with a deaf lifeguard on watch? Could a deaf lifeguard notice your distressed child's cry for help? While these questions pose some serious personal judgments...more

EEOC Provides Useful Guidance On Mandatory Flu Vaccinations And Reasonable Accommodations

by Beth P. Zoller | XpertHR - Partnered with LexisNexis on 2/4/2013

In the midst of the flu pandemic, many health care employers are requiring employees to receive flu vaccinations. However, a number of workers have protested, claiming that they are entitled to an accommodation based on...more

D.O.E. Technologies and doeLegal Will Pay $130,000 to Settle EEOC Disability Discrimination Lawsuit

by U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission... on 2/4/2013

Hard-of-Hearing Employee Fired for Requesting Accommodations, Federal Agency Charged - WILMINGTON, Del. - D.O.E. Technologies, Inc. and a related company, doeLegal, LLC will pay $130,000 and furnish other relief to...more

Kintetsu International Express to Pay $77,500 to Settle EEOC Disability Harassment, Retaliation Suit