How much accommodation is enough? There is surprisingly little caselaw on the subject. Most issues arising under the old ADA concerned whether a person was truly a person with disability.Now that the ADA hs been substantially amended, we will surely start seeing more accommodation issues. In EEOC v. UPS Supply Chain Solutions, we see
August 2010
Judge Orders Facebook Updates to be Produced
In a recent decision, a federal court in Southern indiana ordered two plaintiffs to turn over their Facebook entries, wall postings, photos, groups joined, etc. See report. Mike Maslanka reports that the EEOC filed suit alleging sex harassment on behalf of two women. See EEOC v. Simply Storage Management, LLC. The Court…
Persons with Disabilities Have Higher Rates of Unemployment
People with disabilities have a much higher rate of unemployment. See Wall Street Journal report. The unemployment rate last year was 14% for persons with disabilities. As of July, 2010, the rate has risen to 16.4%.
Texas Workforce Commission Collected $4.7 Million in Unpaid Wages
It takes months for Texas Workforce Commission to complete an investigation of a wage claim. See San Antonio Express News story. TWC enforces the Texas Payday Statute and other laws. They also investigate wage claims. They receive 14,000 claims each year by workers who were not paid. But, as I have explained to many potential…
Sherrod Turns Down Offer of Resinstatement
To most people, your job is your life or a very significant part of your life. Survey after survey supports that view. Common sense tells us it must be true. We see that in the case of Shirley Sherrod. Fired for no good reason as part of a huge misunderstanding. Her employer, the US Department…
Work Email Belongs to the Employer
Yes, emails sent from the workplace almost always belong to the employer. That still seems to be a shock to many employees. Look at the story of Chris Gonzalez, grandson of a well-known, former San Antonio Congressman. See San Antonio Express-News story. Mr. Gonzalez has reportedly been sending harassing emails to a former girlfriend.
Email Time is Probably Compensable Time
It was bound to happen sooner or later. A lawsuit has been filed over the employer’s requirement to check email after hours. More and more employers are issuing Blackberries and their equivalent to employees with the stated or implicit understanding that the employee check email after hours. Such a requirement runs right into the Fair…
Another Church Near Ground Zero
I do not understand. I read polls saying Americans disfavor a mosque near Ground Zero and many Americans prefer not to have any mosque near their homes. And, yet, I do understand. If I had not spent 12 months in Iraq serving in the Army and working closely with several Iraqi, Moslem interpreters, I might…
Dr. Laura’s Advice to Self: Quit
There was a time when I enjoyed Dr. Laura and her "tough love" advice. On my long drives to Reserve duty, there was often not much else available on the radio. Her no-nonsense style appealed to me for a time. Now, she is quitting after 30 years, apparently due to her use of the n-…
No Fury Like a Former Employee Scorned
So, you get angry with your employer. They fire you. You want to get back at them for what "they" did to you. Most people start thinking lawsuit. Not Edward Harrington. He decided to start a blog complaining about his former employer, Levinson Axelrod, a prominent New Jersey law firm. He started a blog called…