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Without Evidence of an Underlying Physiological Disorder, Obesity is not a Disability Covered by the ADA
Addressing for the first time whether obesity, even without evidence of an underlying physiological condition, meets the definition of physical impairment and is thus an actual disability for Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) purposes, the Seventh Circuit, joining...
Employers Must Provide Disabled and Pregnant Employees Reasonable Accommodations
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has announced that a large health network which owned and operated three Arizona hospitals has agreed to pay $545,000 to settle a lawsuit which alleged discrimination against employees with disabilities and...
NLRB Issues Decisions on Handbook Policies
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) considered whether the employer’s following work rules were lawful under the National Labor Relations Act: (1) a policy prohibiting insubordination, neglect of duties or other disrespectful conduct, including refusal to...
Insurance Fraud Investigators Entitled to Overtime Pay Under FLSA
Insurance fraud investigators are not exempt from the overtime pay requirements mandated by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), according to the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The FLSA requires employers to pay overtime for each hour their non-exempt employees...
EEOC Sues Greyhound Lines For Religious Discrimination
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act prohibits discrimination based on religion and requires employers to reasonably accommodate an applicant's or employee's sincerely held religious beliefs unless it would pose an undue hardship. The U.S. Equal Employment...
Discharge of Employee for Criticizing Executive Salary Was Unlawful
Employees commonly make complaints in the workplace – about anything from compensation to temperature control. When employees comment on their terms and conditions of employment, however, employers need to keep in mind that such comments may be protected by the...
U.S. Supreme Court Rules Employee May Proceed with Title VII Claim Despite Not Fulfilling EEOC Filing Obligation
The general rule is that a federal discrimination claim should be dismissed unless a timely charge was filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Whether that statutory requirement was jurisdictional (and could not be waived) or procedural (and...
Virginia Enacts Employment Documents Disclosure Law
Effective July 1, 2019, Virginia employers must provide a copy of a limited set of employment documents to employees upon receipt of a written request for such information. The law requires an employer to provide “all records or papers retained by the...
IRS issues 2020 HSA Inflation Adjustments
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has released the 2020 inflation-adjusted amounts for health savings accounts (HSAs). For calendar year 2020, the annual limitation on deductions for an individual with self-only coverage under a high-deductible plan is $3,550 ($7,100...
Employer Will Pay $4M to Settle FLSA Automatic Meal Period Deduction Suit
The University Medical Center of Southern Nevada has agreed to pay $4,000,000 to settle a Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) suit where employees alleged that the Medical Center violated the FLSA by automatically deducting a thirty-minute lunch break, every day, whether...