Discrimination, Disability Discrimination, Corporate Counsel

“If we do it for you, we’ll have to do it for everybody”: 4 worst practices for employers

Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete, LLP on 7/18/2025

Accommodate, accommodate, accommodate! I started practicing law two years before Congress enacted the Americans with Disabilities Act (1990), and four years before it took effect (1992 for larger employers, 1994 for smaller...more

Better Late Than Never? Not in the 5th Circuit: Delayed Action on Accommodation May Be ADA Violation

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP on 5/28/2025

Earlier this month, in Strife v. Aldine Independent School District, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals held that an employer’s delayed accommodation of an employee’s disability could amount to a failure to accommodate under...more

Fourth Circuit Issues Decision Favorable to Employer on ADA Accommodation

Poyner Spruill LLP on 7/7/2021

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) generally prohibits covered employers from discriminating against employees or applicants on the basis of disability. One form of such discrimination is failing to provide reasonable...more

What is a Reasonable Accommodation in the Workplace?

Cranfill Sumner LLP on 5/5/2021

Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), employers with 15 or more employees are prohibited from discriminating against a qualified individual on the basis of disability. A covered employer is required, absent an...more

Keep in Touch: Fourth Circuit Issues Reminder of The Importance of Communicating With Employees on Leave

Poyner Spruill LLP on 4/13/2021

Last week, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit—the court that decides federal appeals from South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, and Maryland—issued an unpublished opinion that serves...more

Failure to Investigate and Fat-Shaming Permit Employment Claims to Proceed

Seyfarth Shaw LLP on 1/2/2018

Seyfarth Synopsis: Under California law, obesity can qualify as a disability if it has a physiological cause and limits a major life activity. Proving such a claim has been difficult. The First District Court of Appeal’s...more

The ADA Is Not a Medical Leave Entitlement, Seventh Circuit Declares

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,... on 9/22/2017

Today’s employers must run their businesses within the competitive environment in which they operate while affording employees an ever-increasing array of leaves. Yet, running a business without a full complement of employees...more

Summary Judgment Denied For Employer Who Circulated Letter About Employee’s Disability Discrimination Charge

Seyfarth Shaw LLP on 8/29/2017

Seyfarth Synopsis: After an employer circulated a letter to 146 employees discussing an employee’s EEOC Charge that alleged discrimination on the basis of his disability in violation of the ADA, a federal district court in...more

DOH! Nuclear Safety Regs Trump ADA Accommodation Request (Thankfully)

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP on 8/23/2017

In a battle between a mentally ill employee seeking accommodation for his job at a nuclear plant and federal nuclear safety codes—-which wins out? The Third Circuit Court of Appeals ended up going with safety codes....more

Third Circuit Affirms Judgment in Favor of Employer in ADA Action, Finding that Compliance with NRC Regulations Justified...

FordHarrison on 8/23/2017

Recently, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in McNelis v. Pennsylvania Power & Light Company affirmed the district court’s grant of summary judgment to the employer in a lawsuit alleging disability...more

Tenth Circuit Affirms Staffing Company Win in Reasonable Accommodation Suit

Littler on 8/4/2017

In Punt v. Kelly Services, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously held that a temporary employee’s request for an undetermined leave of absence was not a reasonable request for accommodation under the Americans with...more

Justice Department Says Vending Machines Are Not Places Of Public Accommodation—And So Much More

Seyfarth Shaw LLP on 7/27/2017

Seyfarth Synopsis: In amicus brief to the U.S. Supreme Court, the Justice Department agreed with the Fifth Circuit and defendant Coca-Cola that a vending machine is not a place of public accommodation and that public...more

EEOC To Employers: Requiring Employees to Return to Work with “No Restrictions” Could Get You Sued

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP on 7/11/2017

Before the Americans with Disabilities Act (and there was a time before the ADA), it was not uncommon to require employees to have a doctor’s note returning them to work “with no restrictions.” That won’t work in today’s ADA...more

Sixth Circuit Signs Off On EEOC Subpoena In UPS Disability Discrimination Case

Seyfarth Shaw LLP on 6/15/2017

Seyfarth Synopsis: The Sixth Circuit recently affirmed a U.S. District Court’s decision granting the EEOC’s application to enforce a subpoena in a disability discrimination investigation, finding that company-wide...more

Rhode Island Superior Court Rules on Job Applicant's Medical Marijuana Use

Littler on 6/15/2017

In a case of first impression in the state, the Rhode Island Superior Court recently ruled an employer is prohibited from refusing to hire a prospective employee because the employee would potentially fail a pre-employment...more

From the Tinfoil Hat Files: Plaintiff Sleeping on the Job Claims Sensitivity to Electromagnetic Voltage

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP on 4/18/2017

The 7th Circuit, in a short opinion issued April 6, zapped a plaintiff’s claim that he was terminated in violation of the ADA based on his condition of being overexposed to electromagnetic voltage at his job. Mr. Hirmiz, a...more

New Jersey Employers Cannot Reduce Employees' Time To File Discrimination Claims From Two Year Statute Of Limitations, Rules...

FordHarrison on 6/20/2016

The New Jersey Supreme Court has held that employment agreements shortening the time in which an employee may file a discrimination claim against his or her employer under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (LAD) are...more

Does Your Website or Mobile App Discriminate?

Goulston & Storrs PC on 6/25/2015

Are you confident that your business complies with federal anti-discrimination laws? If you offer goods or services to the public through the Internet, the answer may not be as simple as you think. Increasingly, lawsuits...more

Obesity, Mere Physical Characteristic or Disability Protected Under Law?

Foley & Lardner LLP on 6/16/2015

It is no secret that the U.S. has a weight problem. We all hear the news about how American waistlines continue to expand, the various theories behind what is causing the trend and endless advice to reverse it. The American...more

Fenwick Employment Brief - September 2013: Findings that Employee Violated Company Policies were not an Admission of Legal...

Fenwick & West LLP on 9/19/2013

In Oliver v. Microsoft Corp., a federal district court in California ruled that Microsoft’s internal determination that the plaintiff’s supervisor violated the company’s discrimination and retaliation policies was not an...more

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