First off, I hope for those who celebrate Hanukkah that it was a festive and happy one. For those who have Christmas and other holidays upcoming, good luck on your shopping and have a great holiday! When you need a break from the holiday mishigas (Yiddish for craziness), the latest employment Law blog carnival is
Federal Cases
Can Prisons Do what They Want with Respect to Discrimination against Persons with Disabilities in Their Prison Jobs?
In a previous blog entry, I discussed the case of Holmes v. Godinez. In that decision, which involved a class action brought on behalf of deaf inmates, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Illinois said:
While it is true that typical ADA claims regarding employment must be brought under title…
A shot across the bow to judges and court systems
I know as a blogger, readers come to expect a regular post every week and on a certain day. In my case, everyone knows that I put up a blog on Mondays, sometime Tuesdays, as is the case today. Rarely, it is later in the week. Obviously, I missed last week. I hadn’t intended it…
ADA and Class Actions; Not Impossible (Prisons)
Previously, I have written on whether class actions are possible with respect to ADA claims considering how ADA claims are inherently focused on individual analysis. From reading the case law on a regular basis, I am seeing class actions being allowed with respect to Olmstead claims. Outside of that, it tends to be hit or…
Academic Deference and Burden of Proof in Reasonable Accommodation Matters
One of the blogs in my blog roll is Wait a Second, which discusses civil rights cases in the Second Circuit. Recently, Wait a Second blogged on this case, which as far as I can tell, appears to be unpublished. Wait a second did an excellent job of describing the facts of that case…
Can a Corporation Pursue a Retaliation Claim?
My most popular blog entry this quarter by far is whether you can get compensatory and punitive damages for retaliation claims, which can be found here. This week’s blog entry explores a different topic but related, which is whether a corporation can bring a retaliation claim and not just an individual. Our case today…
The Double Whammy of Pregnancy and Disability after Young v. UPS: EEOC Steps in
This is an update to the blog entry that I previously posted. I am revising it because upon further review, it is NFL season after all (Go Falcons!; Go Cubs too!), I realized that confusion was created over when the amendments to the ADA went into effect versus when the final regulations of the ADA…
ADA and the “Sports Association.”
For years, I refereed and umpired basketball and softball. The entity for managing the referees and umpires were associations whose sole purpose was to deal with the referee side of things. Referees and umpires were ostensibly independent contractors (whether they are would be the subject of a separate blog entry and will not be the…
Alcoholism, Associational Discrimination, Retaliation, and Magic Words
For my Jewish brethren, I hope everyone survived the gauntlet of the Jewish High Holidays, which ended last night. Again, wishing everyone and their families a happy and healthy new year.
Today’s case comes from the United States District Court’s Southern Division in South Dakota and it takes on issues of alcoholism as a disability,…
Changing Role of Expert in ADA Matters?
I
Intro
Prior to the amendments to the ADA, a person with a disability had to prove that they had a physical or mental impairment that substantially limited a major life activity. A person with a disability still has to prove that. However, before the amendments a person under Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky v. Williams …