Paloma Blanca in Albuquerque Settles EEOC Disability Discrimination Suit for $145,000
According to the EEOC's suit, EEOC v. Paloma Blanca Health Care Associates, LLC, d/b/a Paloma Blanca Health and Rehabilitation, 14-CV-0235 JCH/SCY, Paloma Blanca refused to reasonably accommodate Doug Johnson's disabilities. The company then fired him because of his medical conditions and/or because he requested the reasonable accommodations he needed.
Hearing-impaired patron sues Hippodrome Theatre
Baltimore Sun
Baltimore woman filed suit Monday in federal court asking a judge to order the France Merrick Performing Arts Center to provide open-captioned performances for its hearing-impaired patrons.
DOJ Settlement Suggests Push to Expand ADA Coverage to All Websites and Apps
JD Supra
The chance of future DOJ investigations justifies companies’ reviews of customer-oriented websites and apps for accessibility.
Medical Marijuana and the Workplace: What Employers Need to Know Now
Forbes
There are now 24 jurisdictions with laws that legalize use of marijuana for medical purposes. Five of those jurisdictions—Colorado, Washington, Oregon, Alaska, and the District of Columbia—have gone so far as to legalize the drug for recreational use, with similar legislation pending or under consideration in a number of other states. Because state statutes in this area are generally very new, most have not yet had opportunity for judicial interpretation. This means there is little (if any) guidance—even generally—about what the statutes mean, much less any clear direction for employers that are trying to grapple with whether—and, if so, how—their employment policies and practices should be modified to take into account the new statutes. Compounding the uncertainty for employers is that federal law continues to prohibit marijuana use, distribution, and possession for any reason.
ADA: does “regarded as” still matter?
Lexology
One of the things that makes the Americans with Disabilities Act distinctive among discrimination laws is its “regarded as” prong. It protects not only people who in fact are disabled from discrimination, but also people who are regarded as disabled. R is for “regarded as” and what it means for most employers and employees in 2014.
Don't forget that 12 weeks really doesn't mean 12 weeks
Lexology
I frequently receive calls from clients involving an employee who is about to use up all of his available medical leave (FMLA or otherwise), but who has little chance of returning to work anytime soon. Many times, the employee has some sort of condition that the doctors cannot quite figure out or has a workplace injury and simply wants to maximize his workers’ compensation claim recovery in any way possible. Either way, the common element is that the company and the employee have no idea when the employee might return to work, so the company cannot make definite plans to cover the employee’s work duties.