How much do you really know about employment medical examinations and the law? Let's find out!

1.      Assuming the results are not used in a way that violates the law, it is legal under the Americans with Disabilities Act to require a post-offer medical examination IF

A. The examination is job-related and consistent with business necessity.

B. The examination is narrowly tailored to ...

                          If you ever plan to motor west,

Travel my way, take the highway that is best.

Get your kicks on Route 66.

It winds from Chicago to LA,

More than two thousand miles all the way,

Get your kicks on Route 66.*

OK, kiddies -- jump into my '55 T-bird, and let's take off on old Route 66, from Chicago to L.A., more than two thousand miles all the way! If you promise to behave, I'll let you ride with the top down.

If you fire an employee for an indefensible reason, chances are you will get a charge or a lawsuit out of it, even if the indefensible reason was legal. That's HR/Legal 101. (In other words, don't believe that "employment at will" propaganda.)

If you realize your reason wasn't too good and therefore "improve" it a little after the fact, that just makes things worse. If you "improve" it ...

If you're an employment lawyer or Human Resources professional who handles sexual harassment cases, or a federal judge who decides them (bless your heart!), you know there are a lot of "tares" mixed in with the "wheat."

What the heck is a "tare," anyway? Besides being the weight of packaging that is excluded when one calculates net weight, it's a useless weed, presumably rye grass.

These ...

It seems like such an insignificant little case, but it's really a can of exploding snakes.

An Illinois woman who was terminated after she was caught working during her lunch period has won her claim for unemployment. (The employer said that she was not terminated for working but for her behavior after she was confronted about the unauthorized work.)

Your gut reaction was probably the ...

After a great holiday feast, isn't it fun just to eat the leftovers? Like a nice, cold roast beast sandwich with a wedge of leftover pie? Yum!

Here are some great labor and employment blog "leftovers" from the holidays that I hope you will enjoy as much as I did, followed by a few new year's resolutions for employers and employees. Please add to my list!

In case you were chillaxin' last week and ...