June 7, 2002 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - A sign that the
labor market is slowly climbing out of a trough, the
unemployment rate fell to 5.8% in May, according to figures
released by the Department of Labor.
The news follows the release of yesterday’s unemployment
benefit claims figures which saw first time filing dip
below the key 400,000 level that economists view as
symptomatic of a recession (see
Jobless Claims Dip
Below 400,000 Mark
).
Supreme Court Seeks Justice Department Input on
Disability Case
June 18, 2001 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - The US Supreme
Court has sought the Justice Department's opinion on the
reach of the federal law that prohibits discrimination
against the disabled.
The court is hearing a case in which it must decide
whether, under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990,
employers may refuse to hire disabled individuals who
cannot carry out essential job functions without risking
life or limb.
The case involved Mario Echazabel, who worked in a
Chevron refinery where he was employed through a
contractor. He applied to work directly for Chevron as a
plant helper, but was rejected once the company learned
that he had been diagnosed with a chronic form of
hepatitis.
The company also asked the contractor to remove the
worker from the refinery, on the grounds that his exposure
to liver-toxic solvents and chemicals may exacerbate his
condition or lead to his death.
Echazabal sued, charging that Chevron discriminated
against him based on his disability. A federal judge
dismissed the lawsuit, but the decision was overturned on
appeal.
Echazabal’s lawyers charge that the appeal should be
denied, saying that the company has never presented any
evidence that his medical condition rendered him unable to
perform the tasks required for the job.
Interpretation
Chevron, interpreting the ruling to mean that an
employer cannot deny a job handling dangerous machinery to
an epileptic who suffers uncontrollable seizures, argued
that the court’s ruling would force employers to be
unwilling participants in the injuries suffered by disabled
workers.
The court ruled that employers could only require that
disabled employees not pose a significant risk to others in
the workplace, stating that the intention of the law was to
afford disabled persons the opportunity to decide for
themselves what risk to take.
Chevron countered that the ruling conflicted with
decisions by other federal appeals courts and overrode the
regulations of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission,
the federal agency responsible for carrying out the law’s
employment provisions.
The Justice Department is expected to provide a brief in
the next several months and it is anticipated that the
Supreme Court will decide whether it will hear the case
during its next term, which begins in October.