Robert A. Klingler

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What Every Fibromyalgia Patient Should Know About Their Rights

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Fibromyalgia is a seriously debilitating condition causing patients widespread pain, difficulty sleeping, and a host of other symptoms. While the condition is oftentimes misunderstood by both those in the medical community and the patient’s family or friends, it is universally understood to cause patients a great deal of agony on a daily basis.

Accordingly, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) applies in many fibromyalgia situations to afford sufferers the workplace protections offered to any other American employee with a disabling condition, including reasonable accommodations to ensure continued job security and retention. [Read more…]

Record of Disability

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Did you know an employer cannot discriminate against you because you have a record of a disability, even if you aren’t currently disabled? We recently settled a case where an employer refused to re-hire an employee who had been off work for over a year because of major back surgery. After his FMLA leave had run out, the employee was terminated but told he was eligible to be re-hired once his doctor released him to return to work. When he had recovered from the surgery and applied to be re-hired, the employer didn’t hire him because they were afraid he would re-injure his back–even though his doctor released him to return to work without restrictions and said his back was stronger than ever. This is considered illegal discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). [Read more…]

Top Discrimination Claims: Analyzing the EEOC’s FY2014 Report

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Each year, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) compiles a report listing the major issues, outcomes, and forecasts within the realm of employment equality and discrimination in the United States. The most recent report, which covers from October 2, 2013 through September 30, 2014, reveals a startling number of reports of discrimination across nearly every industry.

In today’s post, we will take a look at the statistics of discrimination in America’s workplaces, as well as highlight several landmark cases litigated by the EEOC in fiscal year 2014 on behalf of workers treated unfairly. If you are facing unrelenting workplace discrimination, you are encouraged to speak to an employment lawyer as soon as possible to learn more about your legal options. [Read more…]

7 Situations That Do Not Amount to Wrongful Termination

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Wrongful termination is a serious offense involving firing an employee for an unlawful reason. The situation can prove tiresome and frustrating, but it can be remedied– unless, of course, the termination was not actually illegal. The following list describes seven situations that may seem wrongful, but are not likely actionable absent extenuating discriminatory or unlawful circumstances. [Read more…]

Sexual Harassment in the Hospitality Industry

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While there is no specific statute expressly defining sexual harassment in Ohio, the term has been sufficiently extrapolated over the years in hundreds of case law opinions, each addressing the various ways in which sexual harassment can rear its ugly head.

In general, sexual harassment is considered repeated, pervasive and/or severe conduct (i.e., a workplace culture) of unwanted sexual advances, course joking, perverse and explicit sexual discussions, inappropriate emails, or the implied suggestion that sexual harassment must be tolerated in order to maintain a positive employment status. [Read more…]

Sexual Harassment in the Digital Age

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The traditional sexual harasser appeared face-to-face, uncomfortably close to the victim’s work space, engaging in tacky jokes, suggestive references, or downright disgusting discourse. In today’s world of social media, online learning, virtual workrooms, and text-based communication, sexual harassment continues to thrive in a new and alarming way.

Behind the perceived safety of the smart phone or VPN connection, harassers have found comfort in the apparent anonymity of the digital “connection”, creating a dangerous situation for victims who may also feel protected from their harassers by distance and obscurity.

[Read more…]

Refusing to Hire Smokers: Is This Legal?

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The health risks associated with smoking are impossible to deny. However, could this costly and dangerous habit also impact an employee’s job security or a candidate’s chances of being hired? Actually, it could, as Ohio remains one of 21 states without a smoker’s protection law, thereby allowing employers to freely and openly discriminate against smokers in both hiring and job retention.

Ohio recently enacted sweeping legislation designed to protect non-smokers from the effects of secondhand smoke, which is proven to be nearly as deadly over time as first-hand exposure to cigarettes. [Read more…]

Ohio Supreme Court Rules on Pivotal Employment Discrimination Case Further Defining “Employer”

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In August 2014, the Ohio Supreme Court considered a high-profile employment discrimination case involving the City of Dayton Police Department. Under federal and Ohio laws, an employer is not permitted to engage in any discriminatory practices with regard to workplace decisions, and cannot take adverse action against an employee based on the employee’s membership in a protected class.

However, as the court pointed out in Hauser v. Dayton Police Department, not all bosses are subject to the discrimination prohibitions found in Ohio Revised Code 4112. More specifically, the court concluded that certain immunity protections prevented the plaintiff from suing the Dayton Police Department’s supervisor individually, and her case was ultimately dismissed. [Read more…]

Caught in the Middle: FMLA Rights When Caring for an Aging Parent

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Known as the “sandwich generation”, many of today’s middle-aged Americans find themselves not only supporting their adult children in a difficult economy but caring for aging and elderly parents. This dual-role can cause many sleepless nights for the harried caretaker, especially when aging parents begin to show signs of dementia or other cognitive issues.

For some, taking a leave of absence from work becomes necessary to ensure elderly parents receive proper care during the day. Under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), it may be possible for a caretaker to keep his or her job while taking a leave of absence to tend to aging parents – but for how long? We will examine the FMLA as it applies to caring for one’s parents, including the limitations and restrictions placed on employees in certain employment scenarios.

[Read more…]

Emotional Support Animals: Covered by the ADA?

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The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a vital piece of legislation enacted to help support and advance those living in America with a disabling physical or mental condition. In general, the ADA works to require employers to not only treat those with a disability equally to those without, but also mandates employers to make certain accommodations to assist those with disabilities in the workplace. Moreover, the ADA applies to most public facilities, and even contains mandates relating to housing. [Read more…]