Normally, when I am putting together a blog entry, what I do is that I find an interesting case that comes out during the week and then: analyze that case; discuss the court’s reasoning and my take on it; and then offer takeaways. This week I did see a case that met that criteria (it
Americans with Disabilities Act
Should we now be asking when to bother with the Rehabilitation Act and preventive tips can come from anywhere
By William Goren on
Jon Hyman’s blog is in my blogroll and I want to thank him for calling to my attention the case of Sjostrand v. The Ohio State University. Jon, as always, did a great job in his blog entry, but I want to take a different approach. What I want to discuss is how this…
Is attendance always an essential function of the job?
By William Goren on
When the ADA first was enacted back in 1990 and went into effect in 1992, the Internet was just getting started. Back then, it was pretty obvious to everyone that an essential function of the job must mean showing up for it. Since then, technology has evolved quite a bit so now many people can…
What Kennedy Giveth Scalia Taketh Away?
By William Goren on
I want to wish all those celebrating Passover, which started yesterday, and Easter, which is Sunday, a happy holiday.
This blog entry is divided into separate categories, but unlike my usual system, the categories are little bit different. Here we have: introductory comments, the case that is the subject of this blog entry (Burrage…
Professional licensing authorities and sovereign immunity
By William Goren on
Recently, I talked about a decision from the 11th circuit which displayed a very good understanding of disability, in that case deafness, in a way that you do not often see in judicial decisions. Oftentimes when you are reading a case, you wonder whether a judge gets “disability,” so to speak. This particular blog entry…
ADA and prisons
By William Goren on
Just what is the exposure to prisons with respect to discriminating against prisoners with disabilities? Prisons have several areas of exposure. First, if a prisoner is employed by the prison and suffers discrimination on the basis of a disability with respect to that employment, title I is involved. Second, the programs and activities of the…
Does Association discrimination apply to title II of the ADA?
By William Goren on
This blog entry explores whether an association discrimination claim applies to title II of the ADA, the Rehabilitation Act, and, for that matter, the California Disabled Persons Act. As is my practice, the blog is divided into the facts, the issue, the court’s reasoning, and takeaways. Feel free to zero in on any and/or all…
Third-party administrators and the risk of being an employer
By William Goren on
It is not unusual for companies of all sizes to outsource their HR functions and/or their benefit administration, though outsourcing their benefits administration is probably more common. What happens if the third party administrator starts making employment decisions for the company whose benefits they are administering? In that situation, there is a risk that the…
What can we expect from the DOJ regulations regarding the Internet? Now, we have an idea
By William Goren on
I
Introductory Comments
Last week the Department of Justice as intervenor and the National Federation of the Blind on behalf of itself and two plaintiffs entered into a consent decree with H&R Block and the entity that runs its website. While the defendant did not admit any liability, they did agree to pay $22,500 to…
Exhaustion of administrative remedies redux: when is a party on notice?
By William Goren on
The stereotype of judges is that they are boring and wouldn’t relate well to an audience. I have attended several CLE’s where judges were the speakers, and that stereotype is just not true. Of course, some are better than others, but that is true with every speaker you here. One of the great CLE speakers,…