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A series of agency Q&As resolves a few questions relating to complying with federal health care reform, such as correctly counting participants’ out-of-pocket expenditures; wellness program reward administration; and the status of “carved-out” benefits. In latest set of Frequently Asked Questions, the U.S. Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services and the Treasury provide some […]
When they asked me to join the rotation of writers for Ford Harrison’s EntertainHR blog, I was a little nervous. After all, while we Minnesotans make headlines for things like our weather (the high temperature here last Monday was 13 degrees below zero) and electing professional wrestlers to high political office, we haven’t had a […]
by Tracey B. Eberling What will 2014 bring? It’s hard to say. If you’ve been in HR very long, you know that employment law and workplace issues can be unpredictable. But HR professionals can take precautionary, commonsense steps to prevent small problems from spiraling out of control. Here are some resolutions that should help make […]
Duck Dynasty patriarch Phil Robertson and his family are most likely not enjoying a Happy Happy Happy Holiday after his recent GQ interview hit newsstands. In the interview, Robertson is quoted as saying: “It seems like, to me, a vagina—as a man—would be more desirable than a man’s anus. That’s just me. I’m just thinking: […]
A nurse’s inability to perform essential job functions, either with or without reasonable accommodations, prevented her disability discrimination claim from advancing to a jury trial and warranted summary judgment by the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota in Attiogbe-Tay v. SE Rolling Hills LLC, No. 12-1109 (D. Minn. Nov. 7, 2013). Comfort Attiogbe-Tay, […]
While the ADA Amendments Act made it easier for employees to show that they have a disability, it did not eliminate the requirement, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled in Neely v. PSEG Texas, No. 12-51074 (5th Cir. Nov. 6, 2013). Facts of the Case Jeffrey Neely worked as a control-room operator […]
A university’s likening of a disabled professor to a baseball player with a career-ending injury did not persuade a judge to dismiss the professor’s disability discrimination allegations. On the contrary, it showed that the employer may have fired the professor because of his disability, a federal judge said in Matland v. Loyola University of Chicago, No. […]
Retailer Toys “R” Us will pay $35,000 to settle allegations that it required a deaf applicant to provide her own interpreter for a job interview according to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. EEOC filed suit earlier this year on behalf of Shakirra Thomas, alleging multiple Americans with Disabilities Act violations. According to the commission, Thomas […]
Wal-Mart is facing a class action lawsuit alleging that its refusal to hire pharmacists whose licenses have been suspended violates the Americans with Disabilities Act. Wal-Mart recently implemented a policy of firing and refusing to hire pharmacy employees who have any history of adverse action against their licenses by a state pharmacy board, the suit […]
An employee’s refusal to provide acceptable return-to-work documentation after a medical leave of absence may be viewed as a voluntary resignation, even if that individual has a disability as defined under the Americans with Disabilities Act. This assertion helped the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirm a lower federal court’s summary judgment in favor […]