Employee’s Receipt of Social Security Benefits May Prevent a Subsequent Claim for Disability Discrimination under the ADA

By Ashley C. Zangara on May 6, 2019

An employee who applies for and receives Social Security disability benefits may be judicially estopped from bringing a disability discrimination claim under the Americans with Disabilities Act (the “ADA”) according to a recent Louisiana District Court case. Tanner v. BD LaPlace, LLC. Paul Tanner was separated from his employment with BD LaPlace LLC (“BD”) for job abandonment in March 2016 after he refused to submit to a mandatory fitness for duty evaluation (“FDDE”). Tanner was…

Drug and Alcohol Testing Law Advisor

DOT-Regulated Truck Driver’s Claims Dismissed Because He Could Not Prove “Shy Bladder” Condition

By Ashley C. Zangara on April 3, 2019

An employer lawfully terminated a commercial motor vehicle driver after the driver was unable to provide a sufficient amount of urine during a random drug test and could not prove that he had a medical condition that would have prevented him from providing the specimen. Beller v. Wal-Mart Transp., LLC, No. 17-cv-530, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 52887 (S.D. Ohio Mar. 28, 2019). Plaintiff was a commercial motor vehicle driver subject to the U.S. Department of…

Drug and Alcohol Testing Law Advisor

New Jersey Mandates Drug Testing Of Direct Support Staff

By Ashley C. Zangara & Kathryn J. Russo on August 2, 2018

All applicants and employees working in any New Jersey Department of Human Services (“DHS”) funded, licensed or regulated program serving adults with developmental disabilities are subject to mandatory drug testing, effective May 1, 2018. Under the Stephen Komninos’ Law, New Jersey Public Law 2017, Chapter 238, covered employers are required to administer pre-employment, random and reasonable suspicion drug testing. The law does not require alcohol testing. The law applies to “direct care staff members.” That…

Drug and Alcohol Testing Law Advisor

Vermont Attorney General Publishes Guide to Marijuana in the Workplace

By Ashley C. Zangara & Kathryn J. Russo on June 20, 2018

Vermont’s recreational marijuana law will take effect on July 1, 2018. (Click here for our previous blog summarizing this law and its impact on employers). On June 14, 2018, the Vermont Office of the Attorney General published the Guide to Vermont’s Laws on Marijuana in the Workplace. The Guide provides employers with an overview of the changes to Vermont’s marijuana laws, and summarizes existing employment laws relating to drug testing in the workplace. Recreational…

EPL Risk Mitigation Blog

An Employee’s Workplace Asthma Attack May Trigger FMLA Protections

By Ashley C. Zangara on May 30, 2018

Many times, timing is everything (or nearly so). For example, in Dighello v. Thurston Foods, Inc. (and unlike the Eleventh Circuit’s ruling in Bailey v. Oakwood Healthcare, Inc., about which we recently wrote), the trial court held that a plaintiff who was discharged shortly after suffering an asthma attack at work plausibly alleged an FMLA retaliation and interference claim. In Dighello, plaintiff worked as a router and dispatcher for a wholesale food service distributor. Her…

Drug and Alcohol Testing Law Advisor

Recovering Alcoholic’s Claims Dismissed Because He Did Not Show He Was “Disabled”

By Ashley C. Zangara on March 16, 2018

A federal court in New York dismissed all claims asserted by a recovering alcoholic under the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act for numerous reasons including that he did not show he was “disabled.” Johnson v. N.Y. State Office of Alcoholism & Substance Abuse Servs., No. 16-cv-9769 (S.D.N.Y. March 13, 2018). Plaintiff, a recovering alcoholic, was a former Addictions Counselor Assistant at the Creedmoor Addiction Treatment Center. He sued his employer, New York State…

Ashley C. Zangara

Employee’s Receipt of Social Security Benefits May Prevent a Subsequent Claim for Disability Discrimination under the ADA

DOT-Regulated Truck Driver’s Claims Dismissed Because He Could Not Prove “Shy Bladder” Condition

New Jersey Mandates Drug Testing Of Direct Support Staff

Vermont Attorney General Publishes Guide to Marijuana in the Workplace

An Employee’s Workplace Asthma Attack May Trigger FMLA Protections

Recovering Alcoholic’s Claims Dismissed Because He Did Not Show He Was “Disabled”

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