In August, I posted about a court decision under the Americans with Disabilities Act involving a county social services employee who had an alleged sensitivity to Bath and Body Works's Japanese Cherry Blossom scent. I noted that the court decision, which allowed the case to go forward, was based only on the allegations in the plaintiff's lawsuit and the initial response of the county ...

My colleague and fellow blogger Jon Hyman had an excellent post this week about the settlement in the Dura Automotive case -- in which the company tested its employees for both illegal and legal drugs. And that wasn't all -- according to the press release of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, employees who tested positive for the designated legal drugs were required to state ...

"Now, you know it's up to you whether or not you want to just do the bare minimum . . ."

I guess Joanna didn't need more than 15 pieces of flair, after all.

Did you know that three out of four federal appellate courts say that, if a disabled employee needs a transfer as a reasonable accommodation, you must normally give the disabled employee preference over better-qualified non-disabled ...

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit* has held that employers may use "sticks" to encourage participation in wellness programs as well as "carrots," if the wellness program is part of a group health or other benefit plan.

*The 11th Circuit hears appeals from federal courts in the states of Florida, Georgia, and Alabama.

Let me back up and explain the issue a bit.

**NERD ALERT ...

This issue has been coming up a lot lately: What should an employer do when an employee claims that her co-workers' fragrances make her sick?

(I'm not being sexist here -- every time I've had it come up, it was a woman complaining about women's fragrances. For the record, men's fragrances can be annoying, too. When they're not completely irresistible.)

Allow me to specify what I mean by ...

Is obesity a "disability" entitled to protection under the Americans with Disabilities Act?

As our nation allegedly gets more zaftig this question could take on enormous significance.

(By the way, did you know that Marilyn Monroe really was not a size 14 but smaller than a size 2? It's a fact! I am so disappointed. I loved the idea of a size-14 sex symbol.)

"Obesity" is medically defined ...

Last week, I posted about five ADA reasonable accommodations that employers never dreamed they would have to make. This week is the happy antithesis to that -- five ADA accommodations that an employer almost never has to make. As with last week's post, every one of these is 100% guaranteed true.

1. Create a job. It's always tempting, but you are not required under the ADA to create a job to ...

I know you're all poring over the Affordable Care Act, now that we have to comply with it, and trying to decide whether Chief Justice John Roberts is an evil turncoat, or a hero, or a "double agent" for the ACA's opponents . . . or for its advocates. (That's the trouble with those darned double agents.)

The heck with all that. Consider this a study break. Here are five ADA reasonable ...

Giddyap! It's been a short week, but we have tons to talk about in the labor and employment law world!

Thinking out loud about the impact of yesterday's DOMA decision on the Family and Medical Leave Act. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit* held yesterday that Section 3 of the federal Defense of Marriage Act was unconstitutional. Section 3 provides that, for purposes of ...

As you all know, the Americans with Disabilities Act excludes "current users of illegal drugs" from protection. Meaning that an employer is free to take action against applicants or employees based on their current use of illegal drugs.

A question that has arisen a few times, and which I've managed to sidestep, has been this: What about current use of medical marijuana? Assuming the ...