On August 15, 2022, the New Jersey Appellate Division declined to reinstate a disability bias class action brought by a New Jersey Transit train operator who was required undergo a sleep apnea screening due to the...more
You have analyzed the medical records, retained a medical expert and lined up a compulsory medical examination (CME). Then the objection arrives: the plaintiff refuses to attend the exam because it is being held in a...more
Truck drivers and some related workers differ from other employees in that they are subject to federal Department of Transportation safety rules that require medical examinations and disqualify workers with certain medical...more
In Demko v. Unum Life Ins. Co. of America, 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 31102 (9th Cir. Oct. 15, 2019), the Ninth Circuit affirmed Unum Life's determination that a Hollywood executive diagnosed with fibromyalgia was not disabled from...more
In a recent appeal from the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court examined the enforceability of a commonly used automobile policy provision related to Independent Medical...more
On October 29, 2019, a panel of Seventh Circuit Appellate Court Judges held that the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) does not cover alleged discrimination based on future impairments. Shell v. Burlington N. Santa Fe Ry....more
Seyfarth Synopsis: The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals recently affirmed summary judgment in favor of an employer that terminated an employee after he tested positive for methamphetamines, even though he claimed that his drug...more
On April 4, 2019, the Appellate Division of New Jersey Superior Court reaffirmed that obesity, standing alone, is not a protected characteristic under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (LAD), affirming summary...more
When can you send an employee for a medical exam? In EEOC v. McLeod Health, Inc., the Fourth Circuit recently provided some guidance and allowed a plaintiff’s claim for an illegal medical exam to proceed to the jury despite...more
According to the Americans with Disabilities Act, employers may only require employees to submit to medical exams or inquiries when there is a business necessity for determining the employee’s ability to perform the essential...more
This month’s key employment law cases address pre-employment physicals, appeals from California Labor Commissioner awards, and background checks. EEOC v. BNSF Ry. Co., 902 F.3d 916 (9th Cir. 2018)...more
The Americans with Disabilities Act sets forth the conditions under which employers can require medical examinations as a condition of hire. Last month, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held that an employer violated the...more
Sometimes when an employee returns from medical leave and presents a doctor’s clearance, the employer has serious questions about the employee’s actual ability to safely and effectively perform the job. A recent unpublished...more
For the second time in as many weeks, a federal appellate court has held that a doctor’s medical judgment can be “false.” Two weeks ago, the Sixth Circuit reversed a judgment that had acquitted a cardiologist charged with...more
There is a needed focus on mental health issues these days. We see it on social media as well as in the news. And, as a nation, we are hopefully moving to a place were individuals can get the help they need without any...more
Recently, the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in Painter v. Illinois Department of Transportation affirmed the district court’s grant of summary judgment to the employer in a lawsuit alleging a...more
One of the most important components of the employment relationship is the benefits package an employer is able to offer its employees. Employee benefits have to make business sense for the employer because there’s always a...more
On October 12, 2016, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit found in favor of a large transportation employer’s driver sleep study testing requirement in a lawsuit challenging the practice under the Americans with...more
The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals recently affirmed summary judgment on behalf of the employer in a case where the employee claimed that the requirement to be a Department of Transportation-certified driver was not an...more
In a case of first impression, the Rhode Island Supreme Court held that a doctor who was hired by a third party to provide an opinion about a patient based solely on his review of the patient’s records did not owe a duty of...more
Americans’ use of prescription painkillers, anti-anxiety medications and other drugs with psychotropic effects has exploded over the past decade. Many of these medications include warnings for persons who take them with...more
Rarely does one get a case that involves a cutting-edge Americans with Disabilities Act issue combined with wild, crazy, passionate, irrationally exuberant, tempestuous, adulterous romance. Well, folks, today is your lucky...more
The Americans with Disabilities Act prohibits employers from requiring employees to submit to medical examinations in the absence of business necessity. In an unpublished decision released last month, the Fourth Circuit Court...more