The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has held that a teacher’s statements on behalf of disabled students were “protected activity” under the ADA, and that the teacher had standing to sue for retaliation under the ADA and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. Barker v. Riverside County Office of Education, 9th Cir., No. 07-56313
October 2009
Disabled employees must provide corroborating evidence of non-obvious, medically necessary accommodations.
By Maria Danaher on
Posted in ADA, Reasonable accommodation
Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, employers and employees are required to engage in an interactive process with respect to a disabled employee’s request for a reasonable accommodation. In cases of psychological disability – depression, for example – necessary accommodations may be non-obvious to the employer. In those cases, courts have held that in order…
Turning clocks back to standard time has FLSA ramifications.
By Maria Danaher on
Posted in FLSA
Daylight Saving Time (DST) ends on Sunday, Nov. 1, 2009, at 2 a.m., so don’t forget to turn the clock back one hour before going to bed on Saturday, October 31. This affects employers and employees involved in “shift work,” because shift workers on duty the night of October 31, and who normally work an…
Replacing employee with younger, less experienced person is not always age discrimination.
By Maria Danaher on
Posted in ADEA
A public school music teacher who was replaced by a less experienced teacher eleven years her junior was unable to show that her age – rather than her work-performance – was the basis of the non-renewal of her contract. Dorfman v. Pine Hill Board of Education, 3d Cir., No. 08-4012, September 30, 2009.
Judith Dorfman…
New technical guidance from the EEOC on H1N1 planning.
By Maria Danaher on
Posted in H1N1 Preparedness
In response to continued concerns expressed by employers, the EEOC has issued a technical guidance to assist employers on H1N1 planning. The document provides information about Titles I and V of the Americans with Disbailities Act (ADA) and pandemic planning in the workplace, and identifies established ADA principles that are relevant to questions frequently asked about…
Company violated federal law by accessing employee’s invitation-only MySpace chat group without authorization.
By Maria Danaher on
Posted in Employment Laws, Social Networking
In an unpublished opinion, a federal district court in New Jersey has upheld a jury verdict in which a company was found liable for violating the federal Stored Communications Act (SCA). The violation occurred when the company’s managers intentionally accessed a “chat group” on an employee’s MySpace account without having received authorization from the MySpace…