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A recent California Court of Appeal ruling involving an employee who agreed to undergo random drug testing places new restrictions on when you can administer drug tests. Random Drug Test Conducted On Employee’s Day Off Perrin Edgerton, a Caltrans equipment operator in the Redding area, failed a random drug test that came up positive for […]
Gov. Davis recently signed a new law (A.B. 2357) that expands the grounds for domestic violence victims to take unpaid time off from work, such as for counseling and relocation. However, some provisions of the new law, which has separate rules for employers with 25 or more workers, are ambiguous and may require legislative […]
In some situations, transferring an employee to a new position with a different supervisor might be an appropriate way to accommodate a disabled employee. But a recent ruling involving a Southern California loan underwriter demonstrates that courts won’t insist on a transfer without evidence that the move would enable the employee to work more productively. […]
The EEOC recently released a guidance explaining when it is and is not permissible to ask employees disability-related questions or to require them to take medical exams. In this final segment, we look at how the EEOC says you should handle a number of common but frequently thorny situations involving employee medical information. Documentation When […]
A sting operation resulted in the arrest of a paroled felon for impersonating a Cal/OSHA inspector and victimizing employers in the Los Angeles County area. Mark Dwayne Jackson allegedly threatened to impose severe fines for non-existent safety violations unless the business owners agreed to a cash settlement. The suspect was arrested after accepting marked money […]
A recent ruling by the federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals helps clarify which positions disabled employees must be considered for when they can’t perform their present job. Rodney McLean was a postal clerk until his physical condition prevented him from performing his duties. Although he identified many vacant positions at the same pay level […]
A hearing-impaired worker in Los Angeles who requested a sign language interpreter for meetings–and instead was allegedly told by her supervisors to read lips and try harder–will receive $100,000 to settle her claim that her employer failed to accommodate her under the Americans with Disabilities Act. In a confidential settlement, the government employer also agreed […]
It’s important to be extra careful when evaluating the abilities of an employee who was previously injured and wants to come back to work. Unless you carefully consider the individual’s current skills and recent medical reports, deciding that the worker can’t perform certain tasks can expose you to an expensive discrimination lawsuit for erroneously regarding […]
Five years ago, the EEOC issued rules explaining which medical exams you could require and what health questions you could ask job applicants without running afoul of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Now, newly released guidance from the EEOC helps clear up some of the uncertainty employers face when these types of issues come up […]
It’s not unusual for employers to have a policy prohibiting workers from disclosing their salary to colleagues. And many a star employee has gotten a big bonus but been warned in hushed tones not to tell co-workers about it. What many employers don’t know is that both these practices are against the law. And, as […]