Transgender suit – in a legal first and a case to watch, a a man is challenging his having been terminated for being transgender. Plaintiff El’Jai Devoureau was hired as a male urine monitor in a drug-testing program. Upon learning of Devoroureau’s transgender status, he was fired as being unqualified for the job since, according to his employer, he was not male. The lawsuit challenges the termination as a violation of the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination, which protects transgender people from employment discrimination. New Jersey is one of 12 states to offer employment protections to transgender people. More: New Jersey Transgender Man Says Firing Was Discriminatory.
Pop quiz: 4th leading cause of death in U.S.? – #1: Heart disease. #2: Cancer #3: Stroke #4: COPD, or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. COPD is also significant cause of long-term disability. More than 12 million people are currently diagnosed with COPD and it’s estimated that another 12 million may have COPD but not realize it. According to a story in Employee Benefit News, approximately 70% of people living with COPD are working and the economic burden for employers is great. DRIVE4COPD is a public health initiative aimed at increasing awareness and identification of COPD for treatment. Employers can participate by encouraging employees 35 and older take its COPD Population Screener, a simple five-question survey, to determine if their employees are at risk for COPD. Here’s an online employer COPD toolkit.
When less is more – At Corporate Wellness, Fiona Gathright posts about survey results on the trends in incentives for health risk assessment completion. Here’s a hint: it may not be as costly as you think.
When more is more – Equilar and New York Times report on the compensation of the nation’s top 200 CEOs. The median pay for these executives was $9.6 million last year, a 12% increase over 2009. According to NYT, “In the fourth quarter, profits at American businesses were up an astounding 29.2 percent, the fastest growth in more than 60 years. Collectively, American corporations logged profits at an annual rate of $1.678 trillion.” The accompanying article says that so far, this executive boon has not trickled down to hiring.
Retaliation – Mark Toth at Manpower Employment Blawg talks about “everything you could ever possibly want to know about the Supreme Court’s recent ruling in Kasten v. Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics Corporation” in his post Rhe Supremes on Retaliation. The issue at hand: Does the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) provision that prohibits retaliation against employees who “file” a complaint cover verbal complaints?
Favorite motivational phrases? – In Ask MetaFilter, a popular online community blog where users post queries to other users, one particpant asked What is your favorite motivational phrase? There are some great responses from a variety of sources. (Warning: this is great resource, but as a public web board, note that you might encounter a word or two that may be objectionable.)
Quick takes
- Here’s a Scary Fact: 75% of Substance Abusers Are Employed
- Meaning is the new money
- Japanese radiation exposure in US workers: OSHA & other resources
- April is Autism Awareness Month
- Emotional Power Broker of the Modern Family
- Using social media in yoru claims investigations
- 11 iPad Apps For Meetings And Presentations
- Top 7 ways to save time on Twitter