An Oklahoma employer will pay $50,000 to settle the first lawsuit the federal government filed to enforce the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act. The case, Civil Case No.: 13-CV-248-CVE-PJC, was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of…
Employers are understandably nervous about the transitional reinsurance fee, which health insurers and employer health plans must pay from 2014 through 2016. The fee will be collected by HHS, even though the states will tailor their own risk adjustment programs….
To prevent the consequences from imprecise employee handbook language, employers should regularly review their handbooks and written policies. Since wage and hour lawsuits make up a significant part of litigation, W&H provisions can make a difference as you draft or…
Federal guidance on the Americans with Disabilities Act states that all employee medical information must be kept confidential, but that goes above and beyond what the statute requires, the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Nov. 20. Despite what…
To bring a discrimination claim, a trainee with a disability needs only show that she was qualified to participate in the job training; she doesn’t need to prove that she was qualified for prospective job, the 6th U.S. Circuit Court…
With Daniel Cafaro Montana has joined the obesity debate, determining in a recent case that being severely overweight, even with no underlying medical condition, can be a disability protected by state law. In BNSF Railway Co. v. Feit (No. OP…
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has clarified when and how screening out job applications without high school diplomas may violate the Americans With Disabilities Act. The commission made clear that such a requirement could violate the ADA in an informal…
What is HR to do when a job applicant or worker claims to have shy bladder syndrome and refuses to urinate in a cup as part of a drug test? Consider testing the worker’s hair or saliva instead, according to…
A recent appeals court ruling shows that clear and consistent documentation of an employee’s poor performance is more important than certain imprudent things a supervisor may say to an employee. Robert Dickerson, an individual with a mental disability, worked as a…
Yesterday, we noted that because of anti-discrimination and credit reporting laws, when it comes to using social media to gain intel on prospective employees, HR professionals cannot just act like kids in the candy store. Why, they can’t even act…