The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was signed into law in 1990, and Title I of the ADA provides a framework for ensuring that people with disabilities are treated fairly
Continue Reading Breaking the Sound Barrier: Navigating Hearing Disabilities in the WorkplaceDisability
Vaccine Passport Efforts Need To Stay Mindful Of ADA Title III
While much ink has been spilled answering questions about employers requiring or not requiring proof of vaccination status and the consequences for employees failing to do so, one question has…
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New York Sick Leave, Disability, and Paid Family Leave Benefits for Employees Quarantined Due To COVID-19
On March 18, new legislation was enacted in New York state to provide additional paid sick leave, as well as insurance benefits under paid family leave (“PFL”) and statutory disability…
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Budding Use of Legal Marijuana Creates Sticky Situation for NJ Employers
Kristine J. Feher and Danielle E. Gonnella co-authored an article in the New Jersey Law Journal titled “Budding Use of Legal Marijuana Creates Sticky Situation for NJ Employers.” The article…
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April 1 Deadline for Massachusetts Pregnancy Act Requirements
Massachusetts employers are reminded that the provisions of the Massachusetts Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (the PWFA) take effect April 1, 2018.
The PWFA was signed into law in July 2017,…
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Massachusetts Enacts Pregnant Workers Fairness Act
On July 27, 2017, Massachusetts Governor Charles Baker signed into law “An Act Establishing the Massachusetts Pregnant Workers Fairness Act.” The new law (i) prohibits discrimination against employees…
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Recent Florida Supreme Court Decisions on Workers’ Compensation Could Lead to Higher Premiums
In two long-awaited decisions, the Florida Supreme Court declared several provisions of the state’s workers’ compensation statutes unconstitutional, weakening legislative reforms approved in 1994 and 2003 intended to curb the…
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Sixth Circuit Rejects Telecommuting Demand from Employee
In an important “win” for employers that has potentially widespread implications, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, sitting en banc, reinstated summary judgment dismissing claims asserted by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) that Ford Motor Company failed to accommodate a former employee’s request under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to telecommute up to four days per week. The Court reaffirmed the “general rule that, with few exceptions, ‘an employee who does not come to work cannot perform any of his job functions, essential or otherwise.’” Notably, the Court observed: “The [ADA] requires employers to reasonably accommodate their disabled employees; it does not endow all disabled persons with a job – or job schedule – of their choosing.”
The plaintiff in EEOC v. Ford Motor Company, Jane Harris, worked as a resale steel buyer, a position which “required teamwork, meetings with suppliers and stampers, and on site ‘availability to participate in face-to-face interactions,’ [which] necessitate[d]… regular and predictable attendance.” The Court stressed the position was “highly interactive” and required “good, old-fashioned interpersonal skills.”Continue Reading Sixth Circuit Rejects Telecommuting Demand from Employee
Obesity: Grounds for Unlawful Discrimination in Europe?
Written by Dorothé Smits and Johan Nijmeijer.
According to Eurostat, during the last decade, the population that is overweight in the European Union (EU) Member States has increased…
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Third Circuit Increases Liability for Employers Issuing Routine Mandatory FMLA Notices
In an important decision, the Third Circuit recently held in Lupyan v. Corinthian Colleges, Inc. that an employee’s sworn statement — and nothing more — that she did not receive…
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