By Russell Cawyer on Posted in Case Summaries,Disability,Reasonable Accommodation,RetaliationTexas courts routinely look to and take guidance from federal law when evaluating claims under the Texas Commission on Human Rights Act. The TCHRA is the Texas state law that prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of disability (and other status) and requires employers to provide reasonable accommodation to qualified individuals with disabilities. In a… Continue Reading
By Hannah Parks and Russell Cawyer on Posted in Case Summaries,Disability,Reasonable AccommodationIn Credeur v. State of Louisiana, an attorney working as a litigator with the attorney general’s office experienced health issues related to a kidney transplant. The Office of the Attorney General allowed Credeur to work from home temporarily while she was recovering from her transplant surgery. After several months of telecommuting, the Office of the… Continue Reading
By Russell Cawyer on Posted in Disability,Discrimination,News & CommentaryOne of the consequences of the Americans with Disabilities Amendment Act’s expanded definition of disability is that employers are facing a much larger number of accommodation requests and therefore a greater number of potential accommodations. Anecdotally, I have seen a sharp uptick in the number of employees asking employers to bring animals to the workplace claiming… Continue Reading
By Russell Cawyer on Posted in Disability,Leave of Absence,News & CommentaryThis week the EEOC published a resource document intended to provide guidance on providing disabled employees with leave of absence as a reasonable accommodation. According to the Commission, [It] continues to receive charges indicating that some employers may be unaware of Commission positions about leave and the ADA. For example, some employers may not know… Continue Reading
By Russell Cawyer on Posted in Case Summaries,Disability,DiscriminationLast month the Fifth Circuit resolved an intra-Circuit split on the appropriate prima face case that should be used in a discrimination case under the Americans with Disabilities Act. In EEOC v. LHC Group, Inc., the EEOC brought suit on behalf of a home health field nurse who was terminated after she was rendered unable… Continue Reading
By Russell Cawyer on Posted in Disability,News & CommentaryThe Americans with Disabilities Amendments Act greatly expanded the definition of what constitutes a disability. Consequently, it increased the number of employees who qualify for the protections of the Act (or as I often lament, we’re all disabled). A positive consequence of this broad definition of disability for defendant-employers is the increased likelihood that in any disability discrimination case, the… Continue Reading
By Russell Cawyer on Posted in Case Summaries,DisabilityThere have been two employment cases decided by the Texas Supreme Court in the last several months. However, because I expect them to have little impact on Texas jurisprudence, I have not been compelled to write about them before today. However, in the interest of keeping the blog up-to-date with each of the employment cases from the… Continue Reading
By Russell Cawyer on Posted in Case Summaries,Disability,Discrimination,Harassment,RetaliationIn an issue of first impression in this Fifth Circuit, the Court held that a volunteer firefighter making a Title VII claim of sexual harassment is not an “employee” for purposes of the statute and therefore had no legal claim. The case arose from a suit filed by a former firefighter for the Livingston Parish… Continue Reading
By Russell Cawyer on Posted in Age,Case Summaries,Disability,ReligionLast term the U.S. Supreme Court confirmed the existence of the ministerial exception to many of the federal employment discrimination laws. This week, the Fifth Circuit took up the application of the ministerial exception for the first time since the Supreme Court’s opinion in Hosanna-Tabor and applied the exception broadly. Philip Cannata was the Music Director… Continue Reading
By Russell Cawyer on Posted in Disability,News & CommentaryDaniel Schwartz at the Connecticut Employment Law Blog has an interesting post today about the effect the American Psychiatric Association’s proposed changes the Diagnostic & Statistical Manual could have to the Connecticut body of disability discrimination law. While Connecticut is unique, according to Schwartz, in its definition of disability and expressly includes mental conditions listed in… Continue Reading
By Russell Cawyer on Posted in Disability,Human Resources,News & CommentaryOne of North Texas’ largest employers announced that it will not longer hire or consider for hire any individual who uses any nicotine product (i.e., cigarettes, nicotine gum or patches, chewing tobacco or electronic cigarettes). Baylor Health Care Systems announced its new policy on the careers page of its website stating: As a health care… Continue Reading
By Russell Cawyer on Posted in Disability,Discrimination,Human ResourcesVerizon agreed to pay $20 million dollars and ceasing using its no-fault attendance policy for absences caused by impairments qualifying as disabilities under the ADAAA. Whatever the size of Verizon’s Human Resources Department, it looks like its going to need to be a lot larger. As part of the settlement with the EEOC, Verizon agreed that… Continue Reading
By Russell Cawyer on Posted in Disability,Discrimination,Human Resources,Reasonable AccommodationThere’s an old saying in rural America that "pigs get fat and hogs get slaughtered." We used the phrase to describe someone who, instead of being satisfied with what he has, gets greedy. In the litigation context it can be used to describe a party that takes overly aggressive, unreasonable and untenable positions. My fellow bloggers, Work Blawg… Continue Reading
By Russell Cawyer on Posted in Disability,Leave of Absence,Reasonable AccommodationThis week the EEOC held a hearing on whether new or updated regulations and enforcement guidance was needed with respect to providing leave of absence as a reasonable accommodation for disabled employees. The EEOC has recently been very aggressive in bringing suit against employers that use maximum leave policies or "inflexible" policies that provide no exception for reasonable accommodation. For… Continue Reading
By Russell Cawyer on Posted in Disability,DiscriminationThere has been a lot of ink spilled and kilobytes written about how the ADA Amendments Act has substantially expanded the rights of individuals with disabilities to seek and obtain reasonable workplace accommodations. (See post, post, post, and post). The increase in the number of applicants and employees who qualify for reasonable accommodations and the types of impairments… Continue Reading
By Russell Cawyer on Posted in Disability,DiscriminationIn a suit you don’t see filed everyday, the El Paso District Office of the EEOC recently filed a disability discrimination lawsuit against Starbucks over the termination of an employee suffering from dwarfism. According to the EEOC’s Complaint: Charging Part has a physical impairment, dwarfism. . . [and] is substantially limited in the major life… Continue Reading
By Russell Cawyer on Posted in Disability,Human ResourcesThe EEOC published its final regulations interpreting the ADA Amendments Act on March 25, 2011. Consequently, those regulations become effective on March 24, 2011. The effect of the Act and these regulations is that large numbers of employees will qualify as disabled under the law thereby triggering an increased number of applicants and employees who… Continue Reading
By Russell Cawyer on Posted in Case Summaries,Disability,Discrimination,HarassmentThe El Paso Court of Appeals held this week that a Texas employer can use mandamus petition to challenge a trial court’s jurisdiction where the plaintiff-employee failed to file his charge of discrimination timely. A link to the opinion is here. … Continue Reading
By Russell Cawyer on Posted in Disability,Discrimination,Workers' CompensationThe EEOC recently brought suit against the country’s largest home builder on behalf of a pregnant employee who was denied a period of unpaid leave in addition to the maximum permitted under the employer’s policies. What is unique about this suit is that the EEOC brought the suit under the Americans with Disabilities Act rather than the Pregnancy… Continue Reading
By Russell Cawyer on Posted in DisabilityThe EEOC recently published proposed regulations designed to implement provisions of the ADA Amendments Act (ADAAA). The proposed regulations incorporate significant changes to the law and provide numerous illustrative examples. A full copy of the proposed regulations can be accessed here. The following sections summarize some of the significant points. Presumptively Disabling Impairments The proposed regulations provide… Continue Reading
By Russell Cawyer on Posted in Disability,Human Resources,LegislationThis legislative session the Texas Legislature passed, and the Governor signed, amendments that significantly expands the scope of the Texas Commission on Human Rights Act ("Act") as it relates to individuals with disabilities. The amendment provides that: The definition of "disability" is to be broadly construed to the maximum extent possible and shall include impairments that are episodic or in… Continue Reading
By Russell Cawyer on Posted in Disability,Discrimination,Reasonable AccommodationA federal appellate court with jurisdiction over Texas held that chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) may qualify as a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act. According to the Centers for Disease Control, CFS is characterized by symptoms including weakness, muscle pain, impaired memory and/or mental concentration, insomnia, and post-exertional fatigue lasting more than 24 hours. There is no known diagnostic… Continue Reading
By Russell Cawyer on Posted in Disability,Human ResourcesA recent Wall Street Journal article described the controversy that e-cigarettes are creating. As Lauren Etter writes, [E]lectronic cigarettes, [are] the smokeless nicotine products embraced by a growing number of people trying to kick the habit or avoid bans on smoking in public. Electronic cigarettes typically consist of a metal tube containing an atomizer, a battery and a cartridge filled… Continue Reading
