Things have been absolutely crazy this week between client matters, the Jewish new year, and speaking engagements. I do want to wish everyone celebrating a happy new year. As everyone knows, I have a very strong interest in the intersection of the ADA and sports. In the very first edition of my book, which
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Anybody Remember Sean Elliott?
I have long been interested in the ADA and how it applies to sports. In the very first edition of my book in 2000, I talked about the hypothetical of what would happen if Sean Elliott, who underwent a kidney transplant from his brother in 1999, was given grief when he returned to professional basketball.…
What is a Service Establishment and the IRS 20 Factor Test
Before getting started on the blog of the week, would be hard to not mention what happened in Pittsburgh. At our synagogue over the weekend during family minyan, which is a small service that takes place before people go to community/Hebrew/religious school (I am never sure what to call it), we said mourners Kaddish and…
ADA and Reasonable Accommodations: The HR (Title I) Version
A few weeks back, I attended a chat seminar put on by the Society for Human Resources Management on reasonable accommodations and the ADA. What happens in that kind of seminar is that people write in their questions online and then knowledge advisors respond. The knowledge advisors are very…
Does § 504 Apply to Independent Contractors?
Previously, I have discussed here whether § 504 applies to employment. Today’s case, Flynn v. Distinctive Home Care, Inc. (you can find my blog entry discussing the District Court opinion here), takes it even further. Today’s case, explores whether § 504, assuming it applies to employment, applies to independent contractors. As is my usual…
Would having a disability protect you from being terminated for harassing others?
Consider: Employee/volunteer/Intern… with a disability is sexually harassing his or her coworkers. The disability is such that the employee/volunteer is unlikely to stop. The hiring authority terminates the employee/volunteer and the employee/volunteer sues the hiring authority for disability discrimination. This sounds very much like what could’ve been the case with the former Mayor of San…
Does the obligation to keep information confidential extend beyond medical exams and medical inquiries?
Previously, I have written that, “the Americans with Disabilities Act requires that medical information obtained on an employee or prospective employee be kept confidential.” See Understanding the Americans with Disabilities Act, third edition at p. 40. However, in light of EEOC v. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans , _F.3d_, 2012 WL 5846208 (7th Cir. November 20,…
The ADA, The rehabilitation act, and the ministerial exception
This blog entry asks the question as to what is the status of the ADA and the Rehabilitation Act with respect to employees that work for religious institutions. Recently, the United States Supreme Court decided the case of Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School v. EEOC, 132 S. Ct. 694 (2012). In that case,…