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Employment Law

Don’t apply ADA to temporary conditions

06/08/2012

Some employees believe that any physical problems that linger after surgery or other medical treatment are disabilities that entitle them to ADA protection. That’s not true. Disabilities are permanent. Temporary, post-surgical problems don’t qualify.

Take same-sex harassment claims seriously

06/08/2012
According to a recent 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals decision, what one woman considers an innocent brush may be construed by the other woman as intentional same-sex harassment—and juries are best equipped to sort out who is right.

Track discipline for equitable punishment

06/08/2012

If you had to, could you quickly produce records showing that every employee who broke the same rule received the same punishment? Would you be able to readily explain any deviations? If you hesitated when answering these questions, it’s time for action.

Showing up for work: Do courts see it as ‘optional’?

06/07/2012
Finally! A court has figured it out. When disabled employees take leave under the ADA, it’s not always an open-ended ticket to calling in absent. If regular attendance is an essential element of the job, then calling in absent is not a “reasonable” accommodation …

Unmarried parents: Can they take FMLA together?

06/05/2012
Q. Two of our employees live together but are not married. They want to take FMLA leave at the same time after their child is born. Since they work in the same section, doing similar work, this would be a big problem. If they were married, we could make them share the 12 weeks. Can we force them to do the same even if they aren’t married?

EEOC sets stage for Title VII protection of transgender workers

06/04/2012
Citing the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Oncale v. Sun­­downer, the EEOC has now stated that it believes Title VII prohibits workplace discrimination against transgender people—those whose gender identity or gender expression differs from the sex they were assigned at birth.

Amputation leads to OSHA sanctions in Botkins

06/04/2012
OSHA has cited Boomerang Rubber Inc. with 31 health and safety violations after a worker’s arm was amputated while he was performing maintenance on a rubber processing machine at a truck mat and mud flap manufacturing plant in Botkins.

Ohio EEOC claims fell in 2011

06/04/2012
Ohio employees filed 313 fewer EEOC discrimination charges last year than in 2010, according to data the commission just released.

Offering disability benefits isn’t admitting disability

06/04/2012
Offering disability benefits to an employee doesn’t prevent an em­­ployer from later contending that the employee is not actually disabled.

Think employee is committing leave fraud? Feel free to discipline–and document why

06/04/2012
If you suspect an employee is abusing your generous sick and disability leave benefits, consider cracking down on fraud. As long as you can document that you made a good-faith decision to punish leave abuse, a court won’t second-guess your actions.