EEOC Issues Revised Publications on Specific Disabilities

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Published on Friday, 17 May 2013 14:45

          The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has issued four revised documents on protection against disability discrimination, pursuant to the goal of the agency's Strategic Plan to provide up-to-date guidance on the requirements of antidiscrimination laws. The documents address how the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) applies to applicants and employees with cancer, diabetes, epilepsy, and intellectual disabilities. These documents are available on the agency's website at "Disability Discrimination, The Question and Answer Series," http://www.eeoc.gov/laws/types/disability.cfm. According to EEOC Chair Jacqueline A. Berrien, "Nearly 34 million Americans have been diagnosed with cancer, diabetes, or epilepsy, and more than 2 million have an intellectual disability…Many of them are looking for jobs or are already in the workplace. While there is a considerable amount of general information available about the ADA, the EEOC often is asked questions about how the ADA applies to these conditions."

          In plain language, the revised documents reflect the changes to the definition of disability made by the ADA Amendments Act (ADAAA) that make it easier to conclude that individuals with a wide range of impairments, including cancer, diabetes, epilepsy, and intellectual disabilities, are protected by the ADA. Each of the documents also answers questions about topics such as: when an employer may obtain medical information from applicants and employees; what types of reasonable accommodations individuals with these particular disabilities might need; how an employer should handle safety concerns; and what an employer should do to prevent and correct disability-based harassment. Read More.

EEOC Files Genetic Information Discrimination Lawsuit Against Rehab Center

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Published on Friday, 17 May 2013 14:35

          According to a lawsuit filed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) the Founders Pavilion, Inc., a Corning, N.Y., nursing and rehabilitation center, allegedly violated federal law by asking for genetic information during the hiring process. The EEOC also alleged that Founders violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. The EEOC has charged that Founders conducted post-offer, pre-employment medical exams of applicants, which were repeated annually if the person was hired. As part of this exam, Founders requested family medical history, a form of prohibited genetic information. Such alleged conduct is in violation of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA), passed by Congress in 2008 and enforced by the EEOC. GINA prohibits employers from demanding genetic information, including family medical history, and using that information in the hiring process. The EEOC filed suit after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process. The Founders suit is the second ever GINA lawsuit filed by the EEOC. Read More.

EEOC Alleges Company Required Employees to Participate in Scientology Religious Practices

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Published on Friday, 10 May 2013 16:05

          The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has charged in a lawsuit that Dynamic Medical Services, Inc., a Miami company which provides medical and chiropractic services, violated federal law by  requiring employees to attend courses that involved Scientology religious practices. According to the EEOC's suit, the company allegedly required Norma Rodriguez, Maykel Ruz, Rommy Sanchez,  Yanileydis Capote and other employees to spend at least half their work days in  courses that involved Scientology religious practices, such as screaming at  ashtrays or staring at someone for eight hours without moving.  The company also instructed employees to attend courses at the Church of Scientology.   Additionally, the company required Sanchez to undergo an "audit" by connecting herself to an "E-meter," which Scientologists believe is a religious artifact, and required her to undergo "purification" treatment at the Church of Scientology.  According to the EEOC's suit, employees repeatedly asked not to attend the courses but were told it was a requirement of the job. In the cases of Rodriguez and Sanchez, when they refused to participate in Scientology religious practices and/or did not conform to Scientology religious beliefs, they were terminated.

          Requiring  employees to conform to religious practices and beliefs espoused by the  employer, creating a hostile work environment, and failing to reasonably  accommodate the religious beliefs of an employee all violate Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.  "Employees'  freedom from religious coercion at the workplace must be protected," said  Robert Weisberg, regional attorney for the EEOC's Miami District Office.  "These actions are a shameful violation of  federal law." Read More.

Panel of Experts at EEOC Conference Discuss Legality of Wellness Programs

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Published on Friday, 10 May 2013 15:48

          Wellness programs are an increasingly common feature of employee benefits programs, and guidance is needed to avoid violations of federal equal employment opportunity laws, a panel of experts representing business, advocacy groups and providers told the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) at a meeting held today. According to EEOC Chair Jacqueline A. Berrien, "We appreciate the valuable insights and diverse perspectives provided by today's panelists…There has been broad, bipartisan support for the expanded use of wellness programs to reduce health insurance and healthcare costs, but today's meeting underscored the importance of insuring that those programs are designed and implemented in a manner that is consistent with federal equal employment opportunity laws."

          A majority of employers now offer some sort of wellness program: 94 percent of employers with over 200 workers, and 63 percent of smaller ones, according to Karen Pollitz of the Kaiser Family Foundation, which researches issues relating to health care. She added that many of these programs offer some sort of financial incentive for participation, which can range from gift cards to higher employer contributions for insurance premiums, or penalties like additional surcharges to employees for health insurance.

          The most common intersection of these programs and the statutes EEOC enforces occurs when the programs require medical exams or ask disability-related questions, both of which would ordinarily give rise to a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), EEOC Acting Associate Legal Counsel Christopher Kuczynski told the Commission. He explained that, while the ADA allows employers to ask for medical information in connection with voluntary wellness programs, the meaning of "voluntary" merits further clarification by the Commission. Read More.