Last week, HR Dive reported on a Washington federal court’s June order requiring that a public employer pay $1.8 million to a terminated employee. The worker was fired when she failed a drug test due to her lawful use of prescription drugs, testing positive for opioids. Her doctor explained that she was receiving injections of pain medication to control her migraines, and that her work was not impaired. She did not work in a safety-sensitive position. The court ruled that the employer should have engaged in the ADA’s interactive process in an effort to reasonably accommodate her condition.
Discrimination
Massachusetts’ highest court held that a fired employee can pursue allegations that her termination for using
medical marijuana violated Massachusetts’ anti-discrimination laws.
After two female scientists at the Salk Institute sued for gender discrimination, the Institute issued public comments about their work that some are characterizing as a
“smear.”
The EEOC has
sued a franchise operator of Tim Horton’s Café and Bakery in Michigan, alleging that the employer failed to accommodate the employee’s request to wear a skirt instead of pants as required by her religious beliefs.
Technology
Fujitsu Limited has developed a new algorithm to estimate ongoing
heat stress in workers such as security guards.
In
The Business Journals, contributing writer Bill English
commented on the impact of “creepy” employee surveillance.
TechCrunch columnist Jon Evans had some
suggestions for tech industry males as they react to concerns about sexual harassment in the industry.
Franczek Radelet’s
Wage and Hour Insights blog urged employers to
exercise caution when using biometric information for timekeeping.
In Other News
An opinion writer for Bloomberg argued that
mandating parental leave would create a middle-class entitlement that would harm the working poor.
The administration approved 15,000 additional
H-2B visas for foreign workers to fill non-agricultural seasonal jobs in the U.S.
HR Dive reported on the US Department of Labor’s “to-do list,” which includes plans to replace overtime rules and rescind tip pool regulations.
Workforce wrote about the development of parent-centric workplace initiatives that benefit men and women equally.
