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The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals recently grappled with the question of what constitutes actionable harm to an employee in an employment discrimination case. Let’s look at what the court decided. Facts Mark Laster, an African-American male, worked for the city of Kalamazoo, Michigan. In June 2010, President Barack Obama was a guest speaker […]
While most courts agree that coming to work regularly is an essential job function, many courts also have found that leave for a specified period of time is a reasonable accommodation if it does not cause an undue hardship. Chai Feldblum, a commissioner with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, discussed “leave as a reasonable accommodation” under the ADA […]
Employee wellness plans have been gaining popularity in recent years, and with good reason: they can benefit both employees and employers. An employee wellness program is simply a program that intends to promote the health and well-being of employees. This can be accomplished in a variety of ways, but the key is that the program […]
Recently, the American Psychiatric Association published its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fifth edition (DSM-5). DSM-5 includes several diagnostic categories not present in past editions. In practice, this may mean that more employees may now qualify for protection under the ADA than ever before, and that means you must be at the ready […]
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The new Minnesota Women’s Economic Security Act (WESA)—an amalgamation of changes designed to “close the gender gap” by breaking down barriers to economic progress for women—has begun to take effect. Governor Mark Dayton signed WESA into law on Mother’s Day earlier this month. Some of the changes were “effective upon enactment,” which means they went […]
By Thora Sigurdson As we reported earlier, in response to increasing concerns about the Canadian Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP), Citizenship and Immigration Canada and Employment and Skills Development Canada (ESDC) have stepped up enforcement.
by Tammy Binford An April gathering that brought together President Barack Obama, three former presidents, and civil rights leaders marked the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, a game-changing law that still guards against discrimination in the workplace and other aspects of life. The impetus for the Act was the kind of […]
by Matthew A. Lafferman Everyone has unconscious or subconscious preferences. Generally, we all prefer to associate or socialize with people who share our background and interests. As a consequence, we often aren’t aware of our preferences, identifying our behavior only when it’s pointed out by someone else. Unfortunately, we carry our hidden biases into the […]
by Amy S. Ybarra Bullying. We’ve all read the headlines. A child shoots another child who bullied him. A child takes her own life because she was bullied. As a result, schools are teaching kids and parents about recognizing the signs of bullying, reporting troubling behavior, and stopping it before it escalates. But bullying is […]