The Chartwell Chronicles: Employment Law
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#WorkforceWednesday: OSHA ETS on Hold, Retaliation Claims Increase, "Vaccination Ambassadors" - Employment Law This Week®
Last month, we reported on a decision from the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals (which includes Tennessee) concluding that an employee’s asthma did not constitute a protected disability under the Americans with Disabilities...more
Last week’s decision by the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, Morgan v. Allison Crane & Rigging LLC, stands as a reminder to employers to exercise caution in how they navigate accommodating employees with temporary medical...more
In April 2022, a Kentucky jury awarded $450,000 to a fired employee who claimed that an unwanted office birthday party triggered panic attacks. The employee refused to attend the party on his behalf and was later terminated....more
In Hall v. Aetna Life Ins. Co., 2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 117331 (N.D. Cal. June 23, 2021), a California district court held that an ERISA claim administrator properly terminated long-term disability (LTD) benefits after the...more
This month’s Friday Five covers recent cases addressing: (1) the validity of a judgment that includes retroactive “any occupation” benefits where no administrative determination on those benefits has been made; (2) the...more
Heeding the adage “no one knows what the future may hold,” the Seventh, Eighth and Eleventh Circuits have uniformly refused to extend protections of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to employees with a perceived risk...more
As many employers know, the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 (ADAAA) broadened the scope of who may be considered disabled under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Indeed, through the ADAAA, Congress sought to make it...more
In Stevens v. Rite Aid Corp., No. 15-277 (March 21, 2017), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit reversed a jury award of almost $2 million in favor of a pharmacist who suffered from a fear of needles because he...more
Can fear of an aspect of your job constitute a disability under the ADA? Depends on how essential the function is. In Stevens v. Rite Aid Corp, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals looked at the case of a Rite Aid pharmacist,...more
A little knowledge is dangerous – awareness of the consequences of a disability not required for discrimination "arising from" disability - In City of York Council v Grosset, the EAT decided that the employer did not...more
On April 4, 2016, a California Court of Appeal set new precedent in Castro-Ramirez v. Dependable Highway Express, opining that the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) may require employers to reasonably...more
Hospital Failed to Provide a Reasonable Accommodation to an Employee After Emergency Surgery, Federal Agency Charges - ATLANTA - Emory University Hospital, which operates in midtown Atlanta, violated federal law by...more
A recent federal district court decision is a good reminder that an employer needs to explore all options before denying an accommodation request, including whether it can go back to an employment practice it has changed and...more
In a closely watched case, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled that an employer could lawfully terminate an employee who tested positive for marijuana in a random drug test, even though the employee’s use of marijuana was...more
In a case we have previously blogged about several times due to spoliation sanctions imposed on the EEOC – most recently here - the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit affirmed a ruling out of the Middle District of...more
Last week the Colorado Supreme Court ruled that an employer can fire an employee for use of medical marijuana away from the workplace. The case is Coats v. Dish Network, No. 13SC394 (June 15, 2015). The plaintiff is a...more
The wait is finally over. Employers in Colorado – and in other states with similar lifestyle laws – can breathe a sigh of relief following a recent ruling by the Colorado Supreme Court. In Coats v. Dish Network, a...more
Colorado, like some other states including New York, has a law that generally prohibits an employer from discharging an employee for engaging in lawful activities outside of work. Earlier this week, in Coats v. Dish Network,...more
As more states legalize medical marijuana and consider legalization of “recreational” marijuana, many employers have wrestled with the question of whether they can still maintain a drug free workplace or must allow employees...more
In Coats v. Dish Network, the Colorado Supreme Court held that the state’s “lawful activities” statute did not limit the right of an employer to discharge an employee for the employee’s lawful (under Colorado law) use of...more
The Colorado Supreme Court ruled that an employee who uses medicinal marijuana at home during non-working hours can be discharged for failing a drug test. While application may be limited by its heavy reliance on Colorado...more
In a closely watched case involving legal protections for medical marijuana users, the Colorado Supreme Court decided yesterday that the state’s “lawful products” statute does not apply to activities that violate federal law....more
On June 15, 2015, in a highly anticipated but not unexpected decision, the Colorado Supreme Court held that medical marijuana use, which is unlawful under federal law, is not a “lawful activity” under Colorado’s lawful...more
An employer did not act unlawfully when it fired a quadriplegic worker who used medical marijuana while off duty, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled today in a 6-0 decision. Affirming the April 2013 decision of the Colorado...more
Dazed But Slightly Less Confused: Employer's Drug Testing Policy Prevails In Termination Challenge - If you are in one of the twenty-three (and counting) states which permits the medically authorized use of marijuana,...more