When it comes to providing reasonable accommodations that comply with the Fair Employment and Housing Act, a recent federal case from Southern California illustrates that informal accommodations may not be enough. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals revived a maintenance worker’s disability discrimination case, concluding that the receipt of permission…
As an employer, understanding exactly what the Fair Employment and Housing Act requires of you when faced with an employee with a disability is extremely important. Failing to go far enough in reasonably accommodating an employee can risk triggering potentially expensive and time-consuming litigation. Two recent California Court of Appeal…
A retail store chain was not required to hold a sales associate’s job indefinitely to satisfy the Fair Employment and Housing Act’s reasonable accommodation requirement, the California Court of Appeal recently ruled. The opinion illustrates that employers may have to provide leave of some duration as a reasonable accommodation, but…
Although the Americans with Disabilities Act offers relatively broad protection to employees, an employee must still prove that his or her disability substantially impairs one or more life activities. A police officer with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) lost his ADA Case on appeal because the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals…
A recent ruling in a Fair Employment and Housing Act violation case provides beneficial information about when an employer is, and is not, able to demand that an employee undergo a psychological examination. A recent California Court of Appeal ruling went in favor of the employer, since the test was both…
In a decision that may have wide-reaching implications, the California Court of Appeal ruled that, if an employee’s job requires him or her to use a personal cell phone for work-related activities, the employer must reimburse the employee a reasonable amount for that usage. The court’s decision concluded that employers have…
In a ruling that appears to represent a setback for workers, the California Supreme Court recently decided that the sexual harassment a restaurant server suffered on the job only allowed her to sue the franchisee that owned the location where she worked, not the restaurant chain as a whole. Since the…
The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals recently reversed a trial court’s decision to throw out a lawsuit launched by several sheriff’s deputies in San Francisco, who claimed that a policy prohibiting male deputies from overseeing female prisoners was discriminatory and violated the Fair Employment and Housing Act. The appeals court…
The California Supreme Court issued a recent ruling that brightens the spotlight on the rights of undocumented workers to seek recovery for their employers’ violations of the state’s employment laws, including the Fair Employment and Housing Act. The court’s decision stated that federal immigration law did not prevent the enforcement…
A university affirmative action director’s discrimination and retaliation lawsuit failed and, recently, so did her appeal due to her own written and oral statements. The California Court of Appeal ruled that the university’s stated reason for termination was a legitimate one and not just a pretext for discrimination. The employee’s…