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Is Obesity a Disability? Fat Chance!

by Gary Jiles Q: Can an employee be fired for being so obese that he can’t do his job? In other words, is obesity a disability protected by law? Americans with Disablities (ADA) Compliance Manual A: The employee must be qualified to do his job or he faces termination. With a few exceptions, the latest […]

What Physics and History Can Teach HR about Hiring and Firing

by Boyd Byers In physics, chaos theory is the concept that systems rely on an underlying order and are sensitive to initial conditions. As a result of this sensitivity, a small error or imprecision in the initial conditions grows at an enormous rate over time. Thus, two nearly identical sets of initial conditions applied to […]

Reasonable Accommodations: Deaf Employee Who Was Turned Down For Driver Job Can Sue; Defenses To Accommodation Claims

Under federal Department of Transportation rules, professional drivers who operate vehicles weighing more than 10,000 pounds must be DOT certified. United Parcel Service had a policy of only hiring individuals for driving positions who had this certification. Based on this rule, UPS turned down an employee who couldn’t meet DOT standards because she was deaf. […]

Deck the Halls with Safety Training

According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), hundreds of home fires start every year with Christmas trees, and candles cause thousands of home fires. Many deaths and injuries as well as millions of dollars in property damage are attributable to these two common holiday decorations. Here are some seasonal safety tips you can use […]

Why Supreme Court transition is important to employers—and the republic

by Mark I. Schickman U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia’s death marks a landmark in American law. Off the bench, he was avuncular, professorial, funny, and friendly, a mind like a machine gun, dangerous and quick. In last year’s biggest employment case, EEOC v. Abercrombie and Fitch, Scalia was the most aggressive questioner of the […]

ADAAA: Skip Step of Determining Disability—Go to Accomodation

In yesterday’s Advisor, panelists at BLR’s Advanced Employment Issues Symposium (AEIS) in Nashville warned of newly aggressive moves by the NLRB and unions; today, panelists take on ADA for 2012, plus an introduction to the all=HR-in-one website, HR.BLR.com. Although the new regs issued in March 2011 do cover a lot of ground with regard to […]

How Bad Is Your Company’s Website?

Although “bad” has become slang for “good,” here it means “not good.” In fact, for the purpose of this article, “bad” means “truly awful,” as in, why even bother.