Published in the New Hampshire Business Review (8/11/22)
New guidance narrows employers’ ability to screen employees.
On July 12, 2022, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) updated its COVID-19 workplace guidance and this article summarizes the key topics that employers should understand.
Return to Work Testing and Documentation
Under the Americans with Disabilities Act
One of the hallmarks of the Americans with Disabilities Act is that employers are required to have a dialogue—known as the “interactive process”—with an employee who requests or appears to be in need of an accommodation. A recent case, Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination v. Tufts Medical Center, Docket No. 10-BEM-01133 (Dec. 18, 2019), provides some guidance for how an employer can fulfill its obligation to determine whether an employee’s disability can be accommodated.
In 2006, after about four years of working as an inpatient nurse at Tufts Medical Center in Boston, the Complainant was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis and lung disease. The following year, she was excused from overtime responsibilities as an accommodation, but still worked without other restrictions. In the spring of 2009, Complainant took medical leaves and by the summer, had exhausted her job protection; in order to return to the nursing pool at Tufts Medical Center, Complainant was required to apply for vacant jobs. By October of 2009, she was cleared to return to work with no restrictions.
A majority of states now authorize the use of either medical or recreational marijuana, but it seems like CBD or cannabidiol is garnering as much attention as the stuff that actually causes the munchies. What is all the buzz about?
In the United States, certain religious schools are legally permitted to limit or discontinue student enrollment if:
the atmosphere or conduct within a particular home, the activities of a parent or guardian, or the activities of the student are counter to, or are in opposition to, the biblical lifestyle the school teaches. This includes, but is not limited to contumacious behavior, divisive conduct, and participating in, supporting, or condoning sexual immorality, homosexual activity or bi-sexual activity, promoting such practices, or being unable to support the moral principles of the school. (Lev. 20:13 and Romans 1:27.)