Tag Archive

Below you'll find a list of all posts that have been tagged as “ADA”

Protecting Older Workers Against Discrimination Act

Skip Sperry January 8, 2020Blog Leave a Comment

Senate Bill 485 and House Bill 1230, identical bills entitled “Protecting Older Workers Against Discrimination Act,” are currently before Congress. The House majority leader has indicated that the House Bill may be considered within the next week.

These bills seek to overturn the United States Supreme Court’s ruling in Gross v. FBL Financial Services, Inc., 557 U.S. 167, 129 S.Ct. 2343 (2009), which held that for plaintiffs to prevail in age discrimination cases,

Idaho Human Rights Commission Statistics FY2015

Skip Sperry September 23, 2015Blog 1 Comment

Today I attended a continuing legal education seminar for the Idaho State Bar Employment and Labor Law Section. Linda Goodman, Administrator/Director of the Idaho Human Rights Commission, was the presenter. I thought some of the statistics she presented were worth passing on.

During the Commission’s 2015 fiscal year, 443 new cases were filed, up from 435 in fiscal year 2014. Of the 443 new cases, 414 were employment related. The following table shows what categories of employment discrimination the cases alleged:

EEOC Sues FedEx for Disability Discrimination

Skip Sperry October 10, 2014Blog Leave a Comment

In a press release, today, the EEOC announced that it has sued shipping giant FedEx for discriminating against deaf and hearing-impaired employees. The charges accuse FedEx of:

Failing to provide needed accommodations such as American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation and closed-captioned training videos during the mandatory initial tour of the facilities and new-hire orientation for deaf and hard-of-hearing applicants;
Failing to provide such accommodations during staff, performance, and safety meetings; and
Refusing to provide needed equipment substitutions and modifications for deaf and hard-of-hearing package handlers,

EEOC Updates Pregnancy Discrimination Act Guidance

Skip Sperry July 15, 2014Blog Leave a Comment

On July 14, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission updated its guidance for the enforcement of the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (“PDA”). The PDA is an amendment to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which prohibits discrimination because of pregnancy in any aspect of employment, including hiring, firing, pay, job assignments, promotions, layoff, training, fringe benefits, such as leave and health insurance, and any other term or condition of employment. The new guidance reflects the liberal approach the EEOC is taking with regard to gender discrimination and also its enforcement of the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”).

BLS Releases Statistics Amid Push to Increase the Minimum Wage

Skip Sperry February 27, 2013Blog Leave a Comment

As the current administration continues its efforts to increase the federal minimum wage rate, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released its 2012 minimum wage statistics, which are excerpted below:

In 2012, 75.3 million workers in the United States age 16 and over were paid at hourly rates, representing 59.0 percent of all wage and salary workers. 1 Among those paid by the hour, 1.6 million earned exactly the prevailing federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour.

Court Finds that Random Alcohol Tests Don’t Always Violate the ADA

Skip Sperry February 25, 2013Blog Leave a Comment

Last week the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania made a surprising ruling: a company can show that random alcohol test are “job related and consistent with business necessity.” In the first case of its kind, the federal judge rejected the EEOC’s Enforcement Guidelines. Before this ruling, the traditional wisdom, garnered from the guidelines was:

You can test a person for alcohol only if you have reasonable cause or suspicion,

Governor Signs House Bill 22

Skip Sperry February 21, 2013Blog Leave a Comment

On February 20, 2013, Governor Otter signed House Bill 22 into law.

Under current law, large employers must remit income tax withheld on a pay period schedule that overlaps two calendar months. This split monthly filing results in a fiscal reporting year of January 16 in one year to January 15 of the next year. Because employee W-2 reporting is done on a calendar year basis, these employers must file a more complex annual form to reconcile calendar year W-2 information with the fiscal year withholding reporting period.

ABA Releases 2012 FMLA Case Report

Skip Sperry February 20, 2013Blog Leave a Comment

The American Bar Association, in association with the Bureau of National Affairs, released its 2013 Midwinter Meeting Report of 2012 FMLA Cases. This report reviews a comprehensive list of FMLA cases from 2012 and categorizes them into subparts of the FMLA to which they pertain.

Illness-related work absences in January 2013 highest since February 2008

Skip Sperry February 19, 2013Blog Leave a Comment

Today, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released a report highlighting the nearly 2.9 million workers who took time off for illness or injury some time during January 2013. The report goes on to reference another 1.2 million workers who did not work at all during January due to illness or injury. These numbers are the highest on record since February 2008.

The Parental Bereavement Act

Skip Sperry February 16, 2013Blog Leave a Comment

House Bill 515 and Senate Bill 226 have been introduced for Congressional consideration. These bills are basically a reintroduction of House Bill 6673 and Senate Bill 1358 from the 112th legislative session.

If passed, they would expand the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 to provide leave for the death of a son or daughter. Intermittent or reduced schedule leave would not apply to leave taken under this proposed amendment,

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