Today’s blog entry is going to be a short one. One of the issues we have discussed quite a bit in a variety of contexts is sovereign immunity. What happens when the claim is retaliation and sovereign immunity is involved? Does sovereign immunity get forcibly waived in that situation? A case answering this question is a published decision from the Sixth Circuit decided on June 24, 2024, is the case of Stanley v. Western Michigan University, a published decision out of the Sixth Circuit, here. As usual, blog entry is divided into categories and they are: facts; court’s reasoning that sovereign i ..read more

The EEOC has been focused on AI discrimination in the workplace for some time. It has been a particular focus, though not exclusively with him, for outgoing EEOC Commissioner Keith Sonderling, who actually wrote a law review article on the topic (see ¶ 1 of thoughts/takeaways §). During the last academic year, I was part of a Ohio Northern University Law Review symposium on artificial intelligence and spoke on AI in employment and what that means for people with disabilities. That presentation will become a law review article coming out in the fall.   The case of the day, Mobley v. Workda ..read more

My thoughts go out to everyone in the Houston area and in Texas dealing with the aftermath of hurricane Beryl.   The blog entry of the day is about a case that came to me from Anne Cullen, a reporter with law 360. She wrote an excellent article on it, here (subscription required). The case is Huber v. Westar Foods, Inc., No. 23-1087 (8th Cir. July 1, 2024), here. It deals with several issues worth exploring, including: the honest belief rule; whether failure to accommodate claims require an adverse action; whether FMLA interference is the same as ADA interference in terms of the way we ha ..read more

As I mentioned at the beginning of the week, it was pretty clear that another blog entry was warranted before Monday in light of the Supreme Court ending its term and my travel schedule. So here goes. There are three cases to discuss that are relevant to the ADA universe. They are: Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo; Security and Exchange Commission v. Jarkesy; and City of Grants Pass, Oregon v. Johnson. All three cases have implications for the ADA universe. As usual, the blog entry is divided into categories and they are: Loper Bright; Grants Pass, and Jarkesy. My thoughts/takeaways will a ..read more

This may very well be a week with two blog entries for three reasons. First, there is the blog that will be the subject of this blog entry. Second, if I have this figured right, this is the last week that the Supreme Court has for issuing opinions before their summer recess. I am particularly waiting on the Loper Bright case, which we discussed here. Third, the week of July 1, I will be out of town all week.   Turning to the blog entry for this week, it is a case out of the Supreme Court of New Jersey that offers a roadmap for dealing with ESA’s in terms of how the process works with resp ..read more

Just recently, North Dakota enacted into their Constitution an age limit, here, for those serving in the U.S. House and the U.S. Senate. In particular, that constitutional amendment says: “no person may be elected or appointed to serve a term or a portion of the term in the U.S. Senate or the U.S. House of Representatives if that person could attain 81 years of age by December 31 of the year immediately preceding the end of the term.” I got to wondering whether this amendment will withstand scrutiny if it is ever challenged. Currently, nobody from North Dakota is in danger of activating this c ..read more

I always assumed that a dog satisfying the definitions of a service animal under the DOJ final regulations for title II and title III of the ADA would have to be automatically allowed by an employer where the employee has a service dog satisfying that definition. At least in the Eighth Circuit, that isn’t the case. The Eighth Circuit has also set up a circuit court split with respect to the case that we discussed last week. A law 360 article on this case says that plaintiff will be seeking review by the United States Supreme Court. Since there is a circuit court split, the possibility of the S ..read more

Today’s blog entry explores an unpublished decision from the Sixth Circuit on April 29, 2024, that discusses some important points regarding reasonable accommodations. The case is Yanick v. The Kroger Company of Michigan, here. As usual, the blog entry is divided into categories, and they are: facts; what is sufficient notice from an employee that a reasonable accommodation is needed; when is an accommodation reasonable; EEOC charges are important; and thoughts/takeaways. Of course, the reader is free to focus on any or all of the categories.   I Facts   For 15 years, plaintiff met t ..read more

I hope everyone had a great Memorial Day weekend. Today’s blog entry deals with the question of whether the Civil Service Reform Act, Title VII, and the ADA can all coexist at the same time. The case of the day is Lucas v. American Federation of Government Employees decided on March 29, 2023,  lower court opinion here, currently pending before the US Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. As usual, the blog entry is divided into categories and they are: trial court opinion; EEOC amicus brief at the appellate court level detailing why the lower court got it wrong that the CSRA is the exclu ..read more

Back in 2015, I blogged on the ACA proposed final regulations as it affected non-discrimination against persons with disabilities, here (this blog entry is still worthwhile reading). It turns out that the rule was finalized in 2016. Somehow, I didn’t blog on that. Now, HHS has issued a revised final rule for §1557. I thought it would be useful to look at it with respect to how it deals with nondiscrimination against persons with disabilities as usual, the blog entry is divided in the categories, and they are: history of the rule; highlights of the rule with respect to persons with disabilities ..read more