New Decision Finds Damages and Penalties can be Recovered Under the FLSA and CWA

In a recent decision by the 10th Circuit, the Court found that a plaintiff could recover both liquidated damages under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and penalties under the Colorado Wage Act (CWA). This should impact the value of claims brought by plaintiffs under the FLSA and CWA. John Crone's summary of the case can be found here:

Liquidated Damages Under the Fair Labor Standards Act and Monetary Penalties Under the Colorado Wage Act are Not Mutually Exclusive

The Wick Law Office will be presenting at the 2015 Southwest Conference on Disability

The Wick Law Office's Reasonable Accommodation Training Group will be presenting at the 2015 Southwest Conference on Disability at the Albuquerque Convention Center on October 9, 2015. Our session will focus on reasonable accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act and emerging issues relating to reasonable accommodations. More information about the conference can be found at www.cdd.unm.edu/swconf/. For information about trainings offered by the Reasonable Accommodation Training Group, please see our website at: www.reasonableaccommodationtraining.com.

Reasonable Accommodations Arising in Workers' Compensation and Family Medical Leave Act Claims

The Wick Law Office's Benjamin E. Wick and Holly V. Franson just finished writing an article for the Colorado Trial Lawyer's Association (CTLA) on reasonable accommodations arising in workers' compensation and Family Medical Leave Act claims, a topic that is becoming more prevalent for clients with medical conditions, disabilities, and workplace injuries. Our article should be published later this summer in the CTLA's Trial Talk magazine. If you have questions on this, or any other employment topics, feel free to contact the Wick Law Office.

Medical Documentation Requests Must Not Be Overlybroad

In a case brought by the EEOC, Pam Transport was recently ordered to pay almost half a million dollars for subjecting its employees to overly broad requests for medical documentation. Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Rehabilitation Act (Rehab Act), requests for medical documentation must be job related and consistent with a business necessity. Learn your rights as an employee and obligations as an employer. Contact us.

Determining whether you are an individual with a disability under the ADA can be difficult.

The Wick Law Office has prepared a useful summary to help determine if an individual meets the requirements for legal protection in the workplace under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) because of a medical condition. Please contact us if you believe you have been the victim of disability discrimination or need assistance in requesting a reasonable accommodation.

How do I know if my medical condition is a disability?

The Reasonable Accommodation Training Group

The Wick Law Office is pleased to announce the launch of our new website to promote the Reasonable Accommodation Training Group. Since its inception in 2014, members of the Reasonable Accommodation Training Group have provided trainings to the Colorado Bar Association, disability rights advocates, and the federal government. The website highlights the importance of proper training for employers and employees on discrimination and reasonable accommodation issues. The Reasonable Accommodation Training Group will be offering two free one-hour trainings in February and March. To sign up for the trainings, or for more information, you can visit us at www.reasonableaccommodationtraining.com.

 

This recent settlement highlights the importance of understanding and complying with the ADA and Title VII

A large settlement payout by the employer in this case could have been avoided by understanding and complying with the Americans with Disabilities Act and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The employer should have taken steps to provide reasonable accommodations. Instead, it terminated the employee after he requested reasonable accommodations. Let's hope this settlement prevents further violations of the disability and discrimination laws. 

http://www.hrmorning.com/a-128k-lesson-in-why-employers-need-to-accommodate-disabled-workers/