Month: April 2013

Ruling supports firing pot smokers despite Colorado law

The Colorado Court of Appeals has upheld an employee’s firing for off-duty marijuana use, despite medical and recreational use of the drug being allowed under state law. A quadriplegic employee who used marijuana under the state’s medical marijuana amendment filed a lawsuit after he tested positive for drugs in violation of company policy and was […]

Handy Checklist—Avoid Wellness Program Lawsuits

Jones, who is a partner at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP in Los Angeles, offered his wellness guidance at a recent Benefits Bootcamp sponsored by BLR® and HR Hero®. Lawsuit Avoidance Checklist for Your Wellness Program Keep corporate wellness and employment decisions separate. Achievement on a health program shouldn’t be a basis for promotion, for […]

How Can You Make Ethics Training Less Obvious and More Meaningful?

Mark S. Putnam, founder of Character Training International (CTI), understands the dilemma of making ethics training meaningful, since ethics can be boiled down to bad guys are bad and good guys are good. Just do the right thing and you’ll stay out of trouble. Most rational adults know this and wasting so much precious time […]

Are You Participating in NAOSH Week This Year?

Sponsored by the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) and the Canadian Society of Safety Engineering (CSSE), NAOSH Week activities are designed to promote the importance of safety and health on the job throughout North America and with worldwide partners. First, you can share with workers these statistics about why safety training matters:   Every […]

When time is the very essence of your job, best not be late …

By Michel Bellemare Every job has its own peculiarities. What might be a minor shortcoming in one type of employment could be catastrophic in another. This is especially true when the breach touches on the very heart of the duties assigned to an employee. This, at least, is what an employee learned in a recent […]

Wellness ? Sure, But Put Your Lawyer Hat On

Wellness programs are growing in popularity and many are effective at keeping employees healthier and reducing employer costs, says attorney Mark Jones, but you have to “put on your lawyer hat” to avoid legal entanglements. Jones, who is a partner at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP in Los Angeles, offered his wellness guidance at a […]

$1.3M Settlement in COBRA/ARRA Class Action Now Final

On April 23, a federal district court in Alabama gave final approval to a settlement agreement under which an employer and plan administrator will pay $1.3 million to a group of former employees who alleged they never received COBRA election or premium subsidy information after their involuntary termination of employment.  The case is Hornsby v. […]

ADA Class-Action Certification Denied for Wendy’s Employees

Employees are having a particularly difficult time bringing class action suits that invoke the Americans with Disabilities Act, according to experts, and a recent case involving Wendy’s employees is no exception. The nature of ADA — particularly its individualized analysis requirements — makes class actions alleging disability discrimination less likely to succeed than those alleging […]

Wellness? Sure, But Beware of Legal Pitfalls

Jones, who is a partner at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP in Los Angeles, offered his wellness guidance at a recent Benefits Bootcamp sponsored by BLR® and HR Hero®. Generally, wellness programs are healthcare options that employers offer to employees to reduce preventable illnesses. They offer obvious benefits to the employee—better health—and benefits to the […]