President Trump endorses the RAISE Act, which would clamp down on legal immigration. The RAISE Act legislation, among other things, would give immigration priority according to a skills-based "points" system and to individuals who speak English. If enacted in its current form, it would be expected to reduce legal immigration to the United States by about 50 percent. Will ...

(When I think out loud, beware.)

Ellen Kearns' discussion of last week's decision in Barbuto v. Advantage Sales and Marketing, in which the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled that employers may have to accommodate employees who use medical marijuana, got me thinking about whether we need to revisit some of our assumptions about marijuana in the ...

No more pencils, no more books, no more teacher's dirty looks . . . except for one little quiz on employment law issues that come up during the summer.

http://polldaddy.com/poll/9273052/

The best answer is "In all likelihood." A minor tear that can be repaired may not be a disability (it depends), but a severe injury, or one that is inoperable with residual limitations, probably is.

http://polldaddy.com/poll/9273130/

The best answer, again, is "Maybe yes, and maybe no." The big point here is that you can't count on being able ...

Readers have been clamoring for my take on the alcoholism-discrimination lawsuit filed by Steve Sarkisian against the University of Southern California.

Actually, I got one email from a reader, who had a better take on the whole situation than I do.

But who cares! I still think it's a great topic, and a case worth following!

Here's the deal, as I understand it:

Mr. Sarkisian took ...

If you have a poor performer, is it better to make a clean break and fire him, or is it better to prolong his (and your) agony?

That is obviously a biased question, but some employers will do almost anything to avoid firing an employee, including the following:

• Nothing
• Issue 8 bazillion warnings but never act on them
• Offer a demotion, or a transfer to a less demanding job
• Let the employee ...

Dear Americans with Disabilities Act,

How time flies -- you're already 25 years old! I have seen many lovely tributes to you this week, and a couple of my favorites are here and here. I hope you don't mind one more from me.

When President George H.W. Bush signed you into law in 1990, I had been practicing employment law for less than two years, so I feel like you and I grew up together.

I ...

Last October, I posted about a consent decree entered into between Wal-Mart and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, in which Wal-Mart agreed to pay $72,500 to candidate for a store job in Maryland whose offer was withdrawn because she couldn’t undergo a urine test for drugs.

The candidate had end-stage renal disease.

Now, Kmart has been hit, too, in a case involving almost ...

You're an employer who tries to do the right thing. But what hidden traps are out there, waiting to grab your ankle and yank you into a lawsuit? Here are a few that cause trouble for even the best employers:

Trap No. 5: Capturing all time worked for your non-exempt employees. We get so accustomed to exempt employees who answer emails at all hours and handle business while driving to and from ...

What do you really know about the "interactive process" under the Americans with Disabilities Act? This is one area in which I am always getting questions, and I think it's the terminology that scares employers. "Interactive process" sounds so intimidating.

Instead of "interactive process," it should be called "sit-down."

When an individual needs a reasonable accommodation, the ...