Employee Relations—Legal & Regulatory Issues 

Disability Accommodation Disability Accommodations: Discipline: If an employee discloses a medical condition during a disciplinary meeting, must an employer consider a reasonable accommodation? ADA Statistics Show Reinvigorated Law Disability Accommodations: Association Provision: What is the association provision of the Americans with Disabilities Act? To whom does its protection apply? Disability Accommodations: Essential Functions: Must an employer accommodate an employee who cannot perform their essential job functions? EEO: Disability: Are employees undergoing treatment for drug and alcohol addictions covered under the ADA? Disability Accommodations: Undue Hardship: How do I know if a work accommodation will create an undue hardship? Disability Accommodations: Must employers allow service animals in the workplace? Disability Accommodations: Documentation: What should an employer do if an employee states he or she needs an accommodation but doesn't have any documentation to back it up? Disability Accommodations: We have an employee we suspect has a “hoarding” problem. What are some things we can do to help this employee? Disability Accommodations: Refusal of Accommodation: What are an employer's options if an employee with an ADA-covered medical condition refuses to ask for/accept accommodation? Accommodations: Is illiteracy a disability under the ADA? If so, what accommodations are employers required to make? Accommodating Parkinson’s at Work Disability Accommodations: Should an employer provide counseling to an employee who is suspected of having an eating disorder? Disability Accommodations: ADA Amendments Act: Q&As related to the ADAAA and the EEOC’s Final Regulations EEOC: Harmonize Leave and Reasonable Accommodation Policies More...  Employee Privacy General: Mail: Can employers open employee mail that was sent to the office? Privacy Claim Barred by Sovereign Immunity, Supreme Court Rules Costly Claims May Arise from ‘Subtle’ Workplace Risks Recent Supreme Court Term Provides Significant Guidance for HR EEOC Warns Employers About Combining Health Records HIPAA Confusion Common When There Are Births or Accidents Employee Use of Social Media: Laws Fail to Keep Pace with Technology Managing Workplace Privacy Legal Protections for Employees’ Workplace Privacy Rights Arise from Many Sources Supreme Court Addresses Workplace Privacy in Texting Case HR Must Be Diligent When It Comes to Verifying Employees 1st Circuit: No Unfettered Telephone Privacy for Public Safety Employees Workplace Hidden Camera Not Invasion of Employees’ Privacy, Calif. High Court Rules Verdict Demonstrates Risks of Accessing Employee’s Restricted Social Networking Sites Explicit Policies Help Navigate Privacy Issues More...  Equal Employment Opportunity Southern States Rack Up Largest Number of EEOC Charges EEOC Control Principles Won’t Enhance Consistency, EEO expert says Generational Differences: New Way to Discriminate? Supreme Court Hears Arbitration Case, Accepts Affirmative Action Case High Court Will Decide Whether ADEA Precludes Equal Protection Claim DOL Rescinds Restrictions on Investigating Pay Discrimination Female Drug Reps File Bias Lawsuit Against Pharmaceutical Company EEOC Stats Include New Table: Charges by Employment Action Supreme Court’s Wal-Mart Ruling Has Dramatic Impact on Class-Action Litigation Employment Bills May Reappear EEOC Will Focus in 2013 on Hiring, Pay, Harassment Mum’s the Word? Rethinking Confidentiality in Internal Investigations Supreme Court Tries to Define Supervisor Disability Accommodations: Should an employer provide counseling to an employee who is suspected of having an eating disorder? EEOC’s Resistance to Deposition of All Claimants Broken More...  Harassment January 2013: Male Sexual Harassment Claims: Training Is the Best Prevention Be Proactive to Avoid Litigation, Experts Say High Court Settles Venue Question for Federal Employees’ ‘Mixed’ Lawsuits Planning a Company-Sponsored Party? Harassment: Bullying: What to consider when there is workplace bullying? EEO: Sexual Harassment: What are the different types of sexual harassment? Supreme Court Tries to Define Supervisor Workplace Investigation Red Flags Raised Beyond Harassment Prohibitions Resources Help Prepare Teens for Workplace Calif. Hospital Settles English-Only Harassment Suit Court Rejects Same-Sex Harassment Claim Based on Stereotyping Whirlpool Settles Harassment Lawsuit for $1 Million Relief from Summer Olympic Duties Allegedly Was Unlawful T-Shirts with Confederate Flag May Have Created Hostile Work Environment More...  Posting Requirements Southern States Rack Up Largest Number of EEOC Charges EEOC Control Principles Won’t Enhance Consistency, EEO expert says Senate Confirms Jenny Yang to the EEOC Supreme Court Hears Arbitration Case, Accepts Affirmative Action Case High Court Will Decide Whether ADEA Precludes Equal Protection Claim DOL Rescinds Restrictions on Investigating Pay Discrimination Female Drug Reps File Bias Lawsuit Against Pharmaceutical Company EEOC Stats Include New Table: Charges by Employment Action EEO: Disability: Is pregnancy covered under the Americans with Disabilities Act? Employment Bills May Reappear EEOC Will Focus in 2013 on Hiring, Pay, Harassment Mum’s the Word? Rethinking Confidentiality in Internal Investigations Supreme Court Tries to Define Supervisor Disability Accommodations: Should an employer provide counseling to an employee who is suspected of having an eating disorder? EEOC’s Resistance to Deposition of All Claimants Broken More...  Recordkeeping Legal: Personnel File Access: Is our company legally obligated to allow current or former employees to review or copy their personnel files? Personnel Records: Some managers want to keep a second set of personnel files at their desks. Can we allow this? Personnel Records: What should, and should not, be included in the personnel file? Complying With Workplace Records and Reporting Requirements VETS Report Deadlines Are on the Horizon Take Out the Red Pen UGESP Definition of ‘Applicant’ Will Not Change Personnel Records Legal Issues in Human Resources Management Understanding the Federal Wage & Hour Laws: What Employees Must Know about the FLSA and Its Overtime Regulations Personnel Records: Access to and copies of Employee Personnel File Policy  Termination Overriding Warning with Termination Did Not Violate Employment Contract Retaliation Claim Over Complaint to HR Revived Fired Draft Dodgers Must Satisfy ‘Pinball Procedural Requirements’ to Challenge Termination Valley Technology, Inc. - A Case Study on Reductions in Force (RIFs) Ministerial Exception Barred Bias Suit by Religious School Teacher, U.S. Supreme Court Rules Kmart Lawfully Fired Worker for Slapping Customer Payroll Clerk Nets $650,886 Front Pay Award Safer Separations 5th Circuit: No Evidence of Racial Bias in Terminating Hospital Employee Summary Judgment Denied on Retaliation, Promotion Claims Supreme Court: FLSA Anti-Retaliation Provision Applies to Oral Complaints 7th Circuit: Employment Contract Extends Discrimination Law Protections to Non-Citizen NLRB: Employee’s Post-Termination Blog Postings Do Not Eliminate Reinstatement 7th Circuit: Shifting Explanations for Employee’s Termination Warrant Trial of Retaliation Claim 7th Circuit: Termination Within Reach of ‘Cat’s Paw’ More...  Other Recent Developments Southern States Rack Up Largest Number of EEOC Charges EEOC Control Principles Won’t Enhance Consistency, EEO expert says Justices Urged to Limit Title VII Retaliation Actions Supreme Court Hears Arbitration Case, Accepts Affirmative Action Case January 2013: Male Sexual Harassment Claims: Training Is the Best Prevention More...