Coronavirus Update 9-10-2020: The coming wave of Covid-related age discrimination lawsuits

The EEOC has sued Ohio State University for age discrimination, alleging that the school discriminated against a 53-year-old human resources generalist because of his age by assigning a substantial substantial portion of his duties to a short-tenured co-worker 25 years his junior. 

"If a termination is age-discriminatory, dis­guising it behind a supposed reduction in force will not change that," says EEOC Regional Attorney Debra Lawrence in discussing the filing of the lawsuit.

What does this lawsuit, which challenges a termination that occurred all the way back in March 2018, have to do with the COVID-19 pandemic? 

Coronavirus Update 9-9-2020: The 8th nominee for the “worst employer of 2020” is … 🎶 it’s corona after all 🎶

It's a world of sickness
A world of tears
It's a world of death
And a world of fears
There's so much that we share
That it's time we're aware
It's corona after all

Disneyland is "The Happiest Place on Earth" … unless you're among the group of employees claiming that it forced them to work while they were sick with COVID-19.

Diversity training is the opposite of “anti-American"

Late last week, Russell Vought, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, issued a memo directing that from this point forward, the federal government will spend zero federal dollars for diversity training for its employees. Why? Because President Trump has concluded that diversity training is "divisive, anti-American propaganda."

Coronavirus Update 9-4-2020: “Normal"

Last Saturday, for one glorious evening, I felt "normal." I dined out at a restaurant for the first time in nearly six months.

Colleen and I celebrated our 17th anniversary. Plan A was to import Maine lobsters, smoke them on my grill, and enjoy them with a great bottle of Italian wine I had picked up our our favorite wine shop. That plan fell apart, however, when I learned that FedEx won't guarantee Saturday delivery to my home. 

So we moved to Plan B. We cautiously and nervously decided to brave a restaurant for an outdoor meal.

Coronavirus Update 9-3-2020: County health department fires five for quarantine order violation

Erie County, Ohio, has fired five health department employees for violating a quarantine order. What happened? Fox 8 provides the details:

Five Erie County General Health District employees are now out of a job after allegedly attending a pool party thrown by a worker, who was supposed to be quarantined.

"I am not going to tolerate it as a health commissioner and the board isn't going to tolerate it as our appointing authority," said Erie County Health Director Peter Schade. "How can we expect folks to follow an order when our own staff didn’t do it?"

Schade said the incident happened in early July after three workers were exposed to COVID-19 and placed on work quarantine orders.

Coronavirus Update 9-2-2020: Ohio set to activate COVID-19 liability shield for businesses

Both houses of Ohio's legislature have passed legislation that will grant a liability shield to businesses for claims related to COVID-19 exposure or infection.

The legislation, which Governor DeWine has indicated he will sign into law, would grant immunity from civil actions for damages based in whole or in part that an injury, death, or loss to person or property was caused by the exposure to COVID-19, unless one can prove that the exposure was by reckless conduct, intentional misconduct, or willful or wanton misconduct on the part of the person or entity sued.

Coronavirus Update 9-1-2020: Vaccines — can an employer require them; should an employer require them?

There are currently more than two dozen COVID-19 vaccines in development world wide, as pharmaceutical companies race to perfect a viable vaccination to halt the ongoing pandemic. 

When (and it's a big when) one or more vaccines becomes available, can an employer require it of their employees as a condition of employment?