Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
How can an employer minimize the likelihood of facing a disability discrimination claim? There are actually a lot of steps employers can take to reduce this risk. Here are 9 of these actions.
An employee’s obesity may be a disability covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act, a federal district court has held. The employer challenged the claim, arguing that the ADA does not cover obesity, but the court disagreed, refusing to dismiss the suit. Joseph Whittaker sued his former employer, America’s Car-Mart, Inc., alleging that the company […]
At-will employment is something most U.S.-based employers are familiar with. But what does this term really mean? Can an employer actually terminate an employee without any reason at all? What are the exceptions?
Yesterday’s Advisor offered guidelines for the tricky territory of FMLA leave for children 18 and older. Today, concrete examples from the DOL of how this plays out, plus an introduction to FMLA Complete Compliance.
Employees who are eligible for FMLA leave who want to take leave to care for a child 18 years of age or older must jump through five hoops to qualify.
By Lura Peterson Having a disabled-friendly HR policy and structure is beneficial to an organization in many ways. Employees with disabilities are as productive as those with no disabilities if they are properly trained. Also, disabled employees give a high return on investment by way of qualifications, high retention rates, and the tax sops provided […]
by Jane Pfeifle An employer made an incorrect assumption about a disabled applicant. When a court disagreed with the assumption, the employer paid the applicant more than $50,000. Lynn, Jackson, Shultz & Lebrun, P.C., the firm of article author Jane Wipf Pfeifle, was involved in this case. All facts are taken solely from the court’s […]
Wal-Mart has successfully defended a putative class action alleging that its failure to employ former drug addicts as pharmacists violates the Americans with Disabilities Act. The retailer was able to show that the lead plaintiff was fired because he was previously charged with forging prescriptions — not because of his history of addiction. The suit […]
Recently, the American Medical Association (AMA) has declared obesity to be a disease. This has implications for employers, since obesity may now also be considered a disability in certain circumstances. table style=”padding: 15px;” align=”right”> When is Obesity a Disability? To see when it might be possible that obesity may be declared a disability, let's take […]
In June 2013, the American Medical Association officially voted to classify obesity as a disease. While this classification doesn’t have legal weight, it provides support for individuals arguing that obesity should be considered a protected ADA disability—which could open the door for discrimination claims. Let’s take a look at the rationale behind this change. Obesity […]