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• Lex Mentis - You're Looking at Me Like I'm Crazy! ( May 2006 )
  James J. McDonald of Fisher & Phillips LLP

  "A nut case." "Crazy as a loon." "A Total Fruit Cake." "Just ain't right in the head." We often use terms such as these to refer to people who behave peculiarly, at work or otherwise. Until recently, the use of such expressions was fairly harmless. Now, using such terms to refer to a subordinate or co-worker may give rise to a "regarded as disabled" lawsuit under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

• The Florida Civil Rights Act ( April 2006 )
  Ryan D. Barack of Kwall, Showers, Coleman & Barack, P.A.

  Generally, the Florida Civil Rights Act ("FCRA"), Sections 760.01 - 760.11, FLORIDA STATUTES, is interpreted in accordance with decisions construing Title VII and other federal employment anti-discrimination laws. However, there are some differences between the federal anti-discrimination laws and the FCRA. These include differences in the scope of the FCRA, differences in the administrative scheme, and differences in the remedies available to the prevailing plaintiff.

• EEOC Issues New Disability Guidance Regarding Cancer ( September 2005 )
  Sherry L. Travers of Thompson, Coe, Cousins & Irons, LLP

  The EEOC has, as part of its on-line Question and Answer Series, recently issued guidance regarding whether cancer is a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA"). The ADA is a federal law that prohibits employers with 15 or more employees from discriminating against individuals with actual or perceived disabilities.

• Personality Testing: Do Your Pre-Employment Tests Violate the ADA? ( September 2005 )
  Ryan  Griffitts of Thompson, Coe, Cousins & Irons, LLP

  In June, an Illinois federal court of appeals issued a decision that may have a drastic impact on the use of "personality tests" in the employment setting.

• Hotels Being Bombarded with ADA Access Lawsuits--How to Prepare Your Property ( May 2004 )
  Jonathan W. Greenbaum of Nixon Peabody LLP

  Even though the Americans with Disabilities Act has been in effect for over ten years, hotel owners and operators are increasingly being named in ADA Title III (access to public accommodation) lawsuits. Under the current law, there is an incentive for plaintiffs' lawyers to file ADA access lawsuits: hotels may required to pay a disabled person's attorney's fees even if the hotel agrees to correct any problems right away. Hotel owners and operators should review their ADA compliance before a lawsuit is filed.

• Disability Discrimination: Pushing the Limits ( March 2004 )
  Ellen C. Meyer of Goulston & Storrs

  A recent study published by the American Bar Association reports that nearly 95% of lawsuits filed under the federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and nearly 80% of administrative claims of disability discrimination are ultimately decided in favor of the defendant. However, at the same time, employers and their HR departments are confronted with more and more bizarre tales of liability under the disability laws.

• Supreme Court Side-Steps Ruling in Refusal to Rehire Rehabilitated Drug Abuser Case ( March 2004 )
  Elizabeth M. Marsh of Thompson, Coe, Cousins & Irons, LLP

  On December 2, 2003, the Supreme Court of the United States issued an opinion in <em>Raytheon Company v. Hernandez</em>. The case arose under the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990 and centered around an employer's unwritten policy of refusing to rehire former employees whose employment had been terminated for misconduct.

• Employment: Americans With Disability Act Supreme Court Confirms: There's More to Life Than Work ( March 2002 )
  Mark P. Albright of White and Williams LLP

  In a decision likely to have a significant impact on assessment of future ADA claims, the United States Supreme Court has ruled that for a worker to be deemed "substantially limited" in performing manual tasks, that person must have a permanent or long-term impairment "that prevents or severely restricts the individual from doing activities that are of central importance to most people's daily lives."

• Supreme Court Narrows The Reach Of Disabilities Act ( March 2002 )
  David A. Anderson of Parsons Behle & Latimer

  Since it was enacted in 1990, the federal courts have attempted to decide who is protected by the Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA"). This judicial analysis, emerging case-by-case and without any clear consensus, has been necessary because the employment provisions of the ADA define a person with a "disability" in very general terms.