It seems axiomatic that a disability discrimination claim requires the plaintiff to suffer from a disability.  In Johnson v. N.Y. State Office of Alcoholism & Substance Abuse Servs., No. 16-cv-9769 (RJS) (S.D.N.Y., March 13, 2018), a judge in the Southern District of New York dismissed a pro se plaintiff’s complaint for failure to allege

Medical marijuana is in the news for a variety of reasons.

On the legal front, the primary issue is that the federal government classifies marijuana as a controlled substance while 20 states have passed laws allowing its use for medical reasons. President Obama’s spokesperson said recently that the President “does not, at this point, advocate a change

The Departments of Justice, Education and Health and Human Services issued a joint letter to the nation’s medical schools, dental schools, nursing schools, and other health-related schools regarding hepatitis B discrimination.  In the letter, the departments express concern that some health-related schools may be making enrollment decisions based on an incorrect understanding of the hepatitis

It comes down to the definition of "medical condition." The Pregnancy Discrimination Act, an amendment to Title VII,  prohibits discrimination based on "pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions." Lactation is none of these, a federal district court held last year, granting summary judgment to the employer. See our post of that decision here.

Reversing

The EEOC has brought a class action under the Genetic Information and Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) against a nursing and rehabilitation center, alleging that the defendant-employer "requires a class of applicants and employees to provide genetic information in response to questions about family medical history" as part of its pre-employment, return-to-work and annual medical exams of

On May 15, 2013, the EEOC issued revised “Q & A” documents addressing how the ADA applies to job applicants and employees with cancer, diabetes, epilepsy and learning disabilities.  http://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/newsroom/release/5-15-13.cfm

Each of the revised Q & A documents also answers questions about topics such as: when an employer may obtain medical information from applicants and

A Colorado law prohibits employers from terminating an employee for “engaging in any lawful activity of the premises of the employer during nonworking hours…” Another Colorado law allows individuals to obtain a license to use medical marijuana.

The Colorado Court of Appeals has held that licensed medical marijuana use is not a “lawful activity” under

An employer’s email to a “no call/no show” employee asking “what is going on” is not a “medical inquiry” under the ADA, according to the 7th Circuit.eeoc v. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans (7th Cir. Nov. 20. 2012). 

The Court rejected the EEOC’s argument that the word “inquiries” in the “Medical Examinations and Inquiries” section