Month: August 2016

United States District Court

Northern District of California Says Jury to Decide Whether Psychological Exam Was Lawful

Click here for PDF A jury will decide whether a university’s decision to require a tenured professor to undergo a psychological fitness for duty evaluation was consistent with business necessity and job related according to an August 11, 2016 order out of the Northern District of California. Ellis v. San Francisco State University, Case No. …

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Employers Be Cautious When Drafting Your FFDE Cover Letters – Inquiries Must Be Narrowly Tailored

Click here for PDF It cannot be overstated that preparing a narrowly tailored FFDE cover letter to the evaluating physician (or, similarly, a medical questionnaire to the employee) is crucial to reducing employer liability. In Scott v. Napolitano, a discharged employee brought an action against his former employer, the Federal Protective Service (“FPS”) of Los …

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Workplaces Warranting Lower Evidentiary Threshold for Finding an Employee to be a "Direct Threat"

Click here for PDF As discussed extensively in the previous blog entry, an employer may not order a fitness for duty evaluation unless the inquiry into the employee’s potential medical or psychological condition is “job-related” and “consistent with business necessity.” A medical or psychological examination is “job-related and “consistent with business necessity” when an employer has …

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Avoiding ADA & FEHA Violations: Deciphering the Meaning of "Job-Related and Consistent with Business Necessity" in the Context of Fitness for Duty Evaluations

Click here for PDF Under the American with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), an employer may require a medical exam or make a disability-related inquiry of an employee as long as the inquiry or exam is “job-related and consistent with business necessity.” The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) …

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