The Iowa drug testing statute (Iowa Code § 730.5) became more employer friendly effective July 1, 2025. Although the Iowa drug testing law remains one of the most technically challenging in the country, the changes will make...more
7/31/2025
/ Attorney's Fees ,
Burden of Proof ,
Drug Testing ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Employment Policies ,
Job Applicants ,
New Legislation ,
Notice Requirements ,
State Labor Laws ,
Workplace Safety
The Iowa Legislature passed a bill (Senate File 418) removing “gender identity” as a protected characteristic under the Iowa Civil Rights Act. The Act prohibits discrimination in employment, education, housing, credit, and...more
3/10/2025
/ Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Gender Identity ,
LGBTQ ,
State Labor Laws ,
Title VII
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has issued proposed regulations (NPRM) to implement the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA). The PWFA requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations to a qualified...more
The Pennsylvania Superior Court has found, as a matter of first impression, that medical marijuana users may maintain a private action under the Pennsylvania Medical Marijuana Act (MMA), including a wrongful discharge action....more
An employer’s failure to notify an employee of the cost of a confirmatory re-test of his original drug test specimen is a violation of the Iowa drug testing law. Woods v. Charles Gabus Ford, Inc., Case No. 19-0002 (Iowa June...more
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued an Updated Interim Enforcement Response Plan for COVID-19 (Response Plan) to regional administrator and state plan designees on March 12, 2021. Although not...more
4/2/2021
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
General Duty Clause ,
Hospitals ,
Inspections ,
Masks ,
NEP ,
OSHA ,
Personal Protective Equipment ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Workplace Safety
The country begins the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic with optimism because of three Emergency Use Authorization vaccines and President Joe Biden’s direction that all states make all adults eligible for vaccination by...more
3/24/2021
/ American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Caregivers ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
General Duty Clause ,
GINA ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Layoffs ,
OSHA ,
Paid Sick Leave ,
Quarantine ,
Rehabilitation Act ,
Return-to-Work Agreements ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
A Missouri-based manufacturer of animal pharmaceuticals had just cause to terminate a 37-year employee who tested positive for marijuana despite the union’s argument that the employee’s personal use of CBD oil and marijuana...more
A Washington appellate court upheld a jury’s verdict that an employer’s drug testing protocol requiring direct observation of urine collections did not invade an employee’s privacy and did not constitute a constructive...more
A Pennsylvania federal court refused to dismiss an employee’s claim for violation of the Pennsylvania Medical Marijuana Act (MMA), reasoning that the Pennsylvania Supreme Court is likely to recognize a private cause of action...more
2020 is on the horizon, and employers must be ready to comply with many new developments in the world of workplace drug and alcohol testing. Here is a summary of significant laws that will take effect in 2020 (and some that...more
The District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana dismissed an employee’s disability discrimination claims based on a broad release in her workers’ compensation settlement agreement with the employer. Peddy v. Aaron’s,...more
Oklahoma became the 30th state to pass a medical marijuana law. Voters approved the measure on June 26, 2018.
The new law gives physicians broad discretion to prescribe medical marijuana, which should make it fairly easy...more
Oklahoma became the 30th state to pass a medical marijuana law after voters approved it on June 26, 2018. The law gives broad discretion to physicians in prescribing medical marijuana, which should make it fairly easy to...more
Beginning July 1, 2018, private employers in Iowa may take action based on an employee’s alcohol test result of .02 grams of alcohol per two hundred ten liters of breath. The lower standard was enacted under a 2018 amendment...more
Although Iowa’s drug testing statute was enacted more than 30 years ago, it is still considered one of the most difficult laws in the country for purposes of employer compliance. The 10-page law includes provisions addressing...more
Last November, Florida voters overwhelmingly voted to amend the Florida Constitution to permit the use of medical marijuana. The constitutional amendment went into effect on January 3, 2017, and required regulations to be...more
A former employee’s claim that she was pregnant and subject to lifting restrictions failed to allege a valid claim under the Americas with Disabilities Act (ADA), according to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District...more
An employer that refused to hire an applicant based on a positive pre-employment drug test was entitled to summary judgment on the applicant’s race discrimination and civil conspiracy claims despite the applicant’s argument...more