“This case illustrates why the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) exists.”
The Employer Handbook Blog
by Eric B. Meyer
21h ago
Imagine being an employer-defendant and reading that sentence as the lede in a court’s summary judgment opinion. Ouch! But that’s precisely what an Indiana federal judge wrote about a defendant who fired an employee after it appeared to the company that the worker had amassed too many absences related to his hereditary, chronic condition that causes kidney stones to develop. The company apparently followed its employee handbook, which included an attendance policy. Per the policy, any unexcused absence, tardy, or leave early accrued a point, and the company would terminate any employee accrui ..read more
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Generally, an employer’s duty to accommodate takes more than an employee merely disclosing a disability
The Employer Handbook Blog
by Eric B. Meyer
3d ago
In a recent Fourth Circuit decision, the plaintiff learned this lesson the hard way. The plaintiff, a lawyer who later earned a promotion to Town Manager, suffered from anxiety, depression, and high blood pressure. He alleged in his complaint that the defendant knew about these disabilities. In January 2018, a law firm representing the plaintiff and two of his colleagues wrote to the defendant seeking changes to “the daily office environment” at Town Hall. This letter was entitled “Accommodations Requests” and referenced the Americans with Disabilities Act in its opening line. However, the Fo ..read more
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“March Madness” is ***checks notes*** not a serious health condition.
The Employer Handbook Blog
by Eric B. Meyer
1w ago
The NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament began yesterday. Last night, I read that the average worker will spend seven hours watching it, with 26 percent of Americans saying they’re prepared to skip work altogether to watch. Cynically, I imagine some of these workers are currently on intermittent FMLA. Two things can be true: (1) An employee with a serious health condition can take an intermittent leave day, and (2) watch March Madness while taking approved leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act. However, it is also possible that an employee approved for a day or two of leave each month for ..read more
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A new bill in congress would guarantee all workers get two weeks of paid time off
The Employer Handbook Blog
by Eric B. Meyer
1w ago
  Yesterday, several House Democrats announced the introduction of the Protected Time Off (PTO) Act to guarantee all full-time workers access to at least ten paid days off from work each year. U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (VT), who proposed a 32-hour workweek last week, is introducing companion legislation in the Senate. According to a press release from U.S. Representatives Seth Magaziner (RI-02), the proposal ensures that full-time employees will earn no less than two weeks of paid annual leave per year, in addition to any employer-provided or legally required paid sick or family medica ..read more
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An employer settled claims it refused to accommodate a pregnant worker who then miscarried
The Employer Handbook Blog
by Eric B. Meyer
1w ago
“Miscarriages can be personally devastating. No one should have to choose between getting the pregnancy care they need and losing a job.” That quote comes from a senior U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission trial attorney as part of a press release announcing a settlement of pregnancy and disability discrimination claims against an employer. Candidly, I’ve grown numb to most of these press releases. Is it because I’m a soulless management-side employment lawyer? No, I prefer to think little surprises me in the workplace anymore. But this one gets files under “What the heck were they th ..read more
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In rejecting an employee’s claim that DEI training fostered a hostile work environment, a federal appellate offered a stern warning to employers
The Employer Handbook Blog
by Eric B. Meyer
1w ago
Earlier this year, I wrote about a white employee in Colorado who claimed his former employer subjected him to a hostile work environment by requiring him to attend anti-harassment training. According to the plaintiff, this training included “sweeping negative generalizations regarding individuals who are white, and other gross generalizations about members of other racial demographics” with training materials that “were based upon a glossary of terms stating that all whites are racist, that white individuals created the concept of race in order to justify the oppression of people of col ..read more
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Here’s how bad documentation can cost a company big bucks when a former employee sues
The Employer Handbook Blog
by Eric B. Meyer
1w ago
Employment lawyers and human resources professionals regularly preach that managers must document employee performance issues as a best practice so that if/when that manager wants to terminate the employee, the company has the “receipts” to justify the decision. Suppose that the employee later sues for age discrimination. He may be able to advance his case to trial and prevail if he can show inconsistencies, incoherencies, or contradictions in the employer’s proffered legitimate reasons for its action. Poor documentation, or none at all, lightens the employee’s lift. I’ll give you a recent ex ..read more
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The Thirty-Two Hour Workweek Act, introduced this week in Congress, is exactly what you think it is
The Employer Handbook Blog
by Eric B. Meyer
1w ago
The same week that the U.S. Department of Labor’s rules on analyzing and determining who is an employee or independent contractor under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) took effect, both houses of Congress introduced legislation to shorten the workweek. On Thursday, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP), and Sen. Laphonza Butler (D-Calif.) introduced the Thirty-Two Hour Workweek Act in the Senate. Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.) introduced companion legislation in the House of Representatives. According to a bil ..read more
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Employers must adjust employee performance standards to avoid penalizing employees on FMLA leave
The Employer Handbook Blog
by Eric B. Meyer
1w ago
Suppose one of your employees, a widget maker, takes leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act. As a widget maker, the employee has a monthly quota of 100 widgets. The FMLA does not require an employer to adjust its performance standards for when an employee is on the job. So, before and after they take leave, the company can hold that employee to the monthly quota of 100 widgets. It’s a different story during leave. The company must adjust performance standards to avoid penalizing employees for being absent during FMLA-protected leave. Otherwise, the company could be facing FMLA interfere ..read more
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When an employee sues, what law applies when they’ve worked in two states?
The Employer Handbook Blog
by Eric B. Meyer
2w ago
Famartin, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons I read a recent NJ federal court decision where a plaintiff began working for the defendant in New Jersey but later requested and received a transfer to Pennsylvania. And that’s when things went awry. The plaintiff alleged that, at an operation leadership meeting, he was “the target of several discriminatory comments relating to his age,” which he reported to HR. According to the plaintiff, the defendant treated him worse after complaining to HR. Later, in the plaintiff’s first annual performance review meeting since reporting the allegations to ..read more
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