Category Archives: Medical Issues

EEOC GRANTS $75,000 FOR WORKPLACE FOOD ALLERGIES HARASSMENT The employee worked in a large, open-space area surrounded by dozens of other employees when she developed allergies to spicy foods, e.g. pepper, Szechuan peppercorn, ginger, especially those made with oils. She … Continue reading

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COVID-19, THE ADA, THE REHABILITATION ACT, OTHER EEO LAWS, AND ULPs Along with the surge on COVID cases our county is experiencing there is a surge in employee requests for union help in connection with those who get the disease … Continue reading

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EEOC OK’S “REQUIREMENT” THAT EMPLOYEES RECEIVE COVID-19 VACCINE This is an important point in the inevitable litigation fight over whether employers can require staff to be vaccinated that is well reported by our friends at FMLA Insights.

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UNION REP TEST #4 (EEO- Medical Information Privacy) The rehabilitation Act prohibits managers from disclosing physical or mental medical information they have about an employee to anyone without a legitimate reason to know.  Nonetheless, managers repeatedly ignore the rule and … Continue reading

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“SHE IS ON MEDICATION” A supervisor asked a contractor to keep an eye on an employee who had yelled and cursed on the job that day and to report back to him about any further incidents. The supervisor then told … Continue reading

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DO YOU KNOW GINA? Not that one. We are talking about the Genetic Information Non-discrimination Act (GINA). It has been law for a few years and we hope many union reps have heard about it. But we worry that not … Continue reading

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MEDICAL PRIVACY QUIZ An employee informs her manager that she will need some sick leave because of pending knee replacement surgery.  Her supervisor passes on that information on to her supervisors so that they are aware of a potential need … Continue reading

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DISCLOSURE OF FMLA MEDICAL INFO TO UNION REQUIRED  In the right-hand column of the FEDSMILL.com page we track headlines off web sites of interests to federal employees. One of them deals with FMLA case law and it recently posted an … Continue reading

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ZIP IT! – WHEN MANAGERS VIOLATE YOUR PRIVACY        This is not the first time we have written about managers who either can’t keep their mouth shut or their documents clean.  The newest example is the Chief of Dental Services who … Continue reading

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EEOC TO MANAGERS: “ZIP IT!—CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW?” MEMBER ALERT!     In October, FEDSMILL.com published an article entitled, “EEOC To Managers: Zip It!”  It was about various laws that prohibit managers from discussing publicly what they know about an employee’s … Continue reading

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