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Yes, according to recent guidance of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), although the issue is currently pending before the United States Supreme Court.  The EEOC recently issued guidance that extends the protections of the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA) beyond its currently-recognized limits. Under the PDA, pregnant employees must be treated the same as non-pregnant workers similar in their ability or inability to work.  In 2008, Congress amended the Americans with Disabilities Act to expand…

It happens all the time.  Police smell an odor of marijuana or other drugs on a person, in a home or in a car.  Does the odor give police probable cause to search the person, home, or vehicle without a warrant for Possession of Marijuana in Virginia? In most instances, the answer is “yes.”  In fact, one recent case illustrates the danger of one being in a vehicle wherein others smoked marijuana at some previous

According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, an employer cannot have a blanket policy against employing individuals with criminal records.  In 2012, the EEOC issued guidance stating that such policies have a disproportionately negative impact upon racial minorities.  Prior to that time, conventional wisdom held that employers could legitimately deny employment to individuals with convictions to protect themselves and their customers from the danger of employee misconduct and accompanying claims of negligent hiring. Rejecting a

No, according to the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals.  The 4th Circuit recently dismissed such a claim in its decision in Discovery Communications, LLC v. Computer Sciences Corporation, No. 13-1969.  That case involved a chief accounting officer who allegedly breached his contract to work for his employer, Discovery Communications, LLC (Discovery), for a set length of time.  According to Discovery, the executive breached his employment contract by resigning early to go to work for another