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Employee Health items

  • Colorado Appellate Court Says Employers May Terminate Medical Marijuana Users

    Date:
    06 May 2013

    The Colorado Court of Appeals has ruled that even though medical marijuana use is legal in the state, employers may still terminate employees who fail a drug test due to off-duty use of medicinal marijuana. See Coats v. Dish Network, LLC, 2013 COA 62 (2013).

  • EEOC to Take Up Employee Wellness Programs

    Date:
    02 May 2013

    The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is scheduled to hold a public meeting on Wednesday, May 8, at 9:00 am (EST), to discuss how employee wellness programs should be handled under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and other laws enforced by the EEOC. The employer community has long been waiting for EEOC guidance in this area and this meeting will bring them one step closer.

  • California Employers, Bite Your Tongue: Oral Communications May Give Rise to Privacy Claim

    Date:
    25 April 2013

    The California Court of Appeals held in Ignat v. Yum! Brands, Inc., 214 Cal. App. 4th 808 (2013), that an employee may file an action against an employer for the public disclosure of private facts about the employee even if the disclosure was made orally to others and not in writing.

  • Sequestration May Impact Federal Contractors

    Date:
    01 March 2013

    If Congress and the White House do not reach a deal on the sequestration,employers with federal contracts should be prepared to take immediate action to deal with drastic cuts in government spending that will result. Federal contractors should anticipate how the sequestration will directly affect their workplace with respect to complying with Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act, wage and hour requirements, benefits and immigration status as well as unions and collective bargaining agreement issues. Employers should also expect possible lawsuits from workers laid off due to spending cuts.

  • EEOC Provides Useful Guidance on Mandatory Flu Vaccinations and Reasonable Accommodations

    Date:
    01 February 2013

    In the midst of the flu pandemic, many health care employers are requiring employees to receive flu vaccinations. However, a number of workers have protested, claiming that they are entitled to an accommodation based on disability, religion or pregnancy. What are an employer's obligations to accommodate workers and what groups of workers are they required to accommodate? The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has provided some useful guidance regarding these issues.

  • New California Laws Affecting Private Employers in 2013

    Date:
    25 January 2013

    In 2012, California Governor Jerry Brown signed 876 bills into law - several of which directly impact employers and HR professionals in the Golden State. To help understand California's most significant new employment laws and what HR must do to comply, XpertHR is sponsoring a free webcast on January 31, 2013 by XpertHR contributors Chris Cobey and Matt Ruggles of Littler Mendelson, PC, the largest labor and employment law firm in the world that exclusively represents management.

  • Food for Thought: Veganism Could Be Considered a Religion

    Date:
    16 January 2013

    In the midst of the flu pandemic sweeping the nation, a federal court in Ohio has provided some food for thought to employers that require their employees to get a flu shot. In Chenzira v. Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, 2012 U.S. Dist. Lexis 182139 (S.D. Ohio, 2012), an employee who was terminated for refusing to get a flu shot because the vaccine contained chicken egg product, which violated her religious and philosophical beliefs as a vegan, may proceed with her religious discrimination claim.

  • Revised North Dakota Smoking Ban Takes Effect on December 6, 2012

    Date:
    05 December 2012

    The ban extends to virtually all public places, both open and enclosed, including bars, all worksites, truck stops, hotels/motels, retail tobacco stores, gambling and gaming facilities, child and adult day care facilities.

About this category

News: HR and legal considerations for employers regarding employee health programs. Support on keeping employees healthy and productive while at work.

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