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The EEOC issued the following guidance on December 14, 2016 for employees and applicants with mental health conditions entitled “Depression, PTSD, & Other Mental Health Conditions in the Workplace: Your Legal Rights” Excerpts of the guidance are quoted below.

The ADA was established to ensure that individuals with disabilities are not discriminated against. The ADA does not specifically list out disabilities that are covered; instead the ADA defines disability as, “a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities…” The ADA also prohibits discrimination based on perceived disabilities that are thought to impair a person’s ability.

The California Labor Commission recently determined that an Uber driver was an employee rather than an independent contractor, generating national headlines today. In essence, the California decision states that Uber is a taxi service, and that the drivers of a taxi service are employees under California law, because they are integral to the service the taxi service performs.

Montgomery County Precinct 3 Commissioner James Noack denied accusations that he discriminated against former female employees stating several could not meet his expectations and accountability standards, which led to their terminations or resignations from his office.

In Speed v. Wes Health System, a Pennsylvania Plaintiff survived dismissal of her suit for retaliatory discharge after she defended herself against a coworker who allegedly sexually harassed her for thirteen months. The employer Wes Health System (“WES”) fired both the harasser and Speed after she struck the harasser on the side of his face when he touched her leg a second time right after she warned him that she would defend herself after the first time.

In Miller v. Johnson & Johnson, a Florida case, Miller successfully brought a claim under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) against his prospective employer. The Fair Credit Reporting Act is intended to provide prospective employees protection from false information found in their criminal background reports.

Lumber One hired three employees and titled them as managers of the company’s lumberyard. The company classified these employees as executives, and accordingly paid them on a salary basis without overtime compensation. During their employment with the company, the employees performed various duties including assembling shelves and stocking merchandise, and helping load trucks.

Proving yet again that an actionable harassment claim has to be based on a protected characteristic, an appeals court dismissed the claims of a male employee whose male supervisor allegedly squeezed his nipples and the nipples of several male co-workers.

On December 11, 2014 the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued a ruling allowing employees use of their employer’s email system during nonworking time for statutorily protected communications under Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). As a result, many employees are now eligible to complain about their work conditions to each other via e-mail with legal protection.

Support Animals can be considered a reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) or the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 under certain conditions. The case of Branson teaches that a dog could be an accommodation not only for blind employees but also paraplegic employees.