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As expected, President Bush yesterday signed the ADA Amendments Act ("ADAAA") into law, significantly expanding the scope of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The final version of the law can be downloaded here. The Stoel Rives World of Employment has been actively covering the law as it wound its way through Congress, and you can
Congress Passes Bills Requiring Health Plans to Cover Mental Illness
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Yesterday, the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate both passed laws that will require employee health plans to offer the same benefits for mental illness as they do for other medical conditions.
The House approved H.R. 6983 by a 376-47 vote, and the Senate passed another version, H.R. 6049 (a tax and energy bill
Ninth Circuit Upholds Legal Arizona Workers’ Act
This week the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the Legal Arizona Workers Act (LAWA) is not preempted by the federal (IRCA). Rather, the court held, LAWA falls within the scope of the “savings clause” of IRCA’s express preemption provision as a “licensing law” and is therefore enforceable. A coalition of human rights and
President Bush to Sign ADA Amendments Act
The White House yesterday confirmed that President Bush will sign the ADA Amendments Act ("ADAAA") into law. The White House issued the following statement, which can be accessed here:
"The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 is instrumental in allowing individuals with disabilities to fully participate in our economy and society, and the Administration
ADA Amendments Act Passes House – Next Stop White House
The ADA Amendments Act ("ADAAA") was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives earlier today. For more information, read the House’s Press Release. As reported previously by the Stoel Rives World of Employment, the same version of the bill was recently approved by the U.S. Senate.
The next stop for the ADAAA is the White House.
Stoel Rives’ Seattle Office Offers “Termination Without Tears” Seminar
The touchstone in any litigation regarding termination is fairness. A jury will look to see if the employee was treated fairly given the circumstances, or if the employer acted in an arbitrary and unfair manner. An employer should always ask, "Is this termination fair to the company? To the employee? To our customers? To our
Employer Violated Title VII by Terminating Employee for Undergoing In-Vitro Fertilization
In the first case of its kind before a federal circuit court, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals held recently that an employer violated Title VII for terminating a female employee who underwent in vitro fertilization treatments. To read the opinion in Hall v. Nalco Company, click here.
The employer terminated the employee citing “absenteeism—infertility treatments.”
Number of Companies with Top Rating for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Workers Jumps by One-Third
The Human Rights Campaign Foundation yesterday released its seventh annual Corporate Equality Index ("CEI"), which rates 583 large businesses on a scale from 0 to 100 percent on their treatment of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender employees. This year 259 businesses–employing more than 9 million full-time employees–achieved a perfect score, a one-third increase over last
DOL Proposes New Rule on Measuring Workplace Risks
The U.S. Department of Labor today issued this proposed rule that would change the methods the government uses to measure workplace exposures to toxic substances and hazardous chemicals.
Under the proposed rule, the DOL will require that before agencies can issue rulemaking dealing with health issues, they first must solicit input on studies, scientific information, and
Russian Judge: Sex Harassment Necessary for Procreation
It’s a slow news week in American labor and employment law, so we have to go all the way to Russia for a newsworthy story: a Russian judge recently ruled that sex harassment is lawful because it’s necessary for human procreation. According to the judge, sex harassment is "gallant," not criminal: "If we had no