Denver Employment Law Blog

Much has been made of the statewide decision in Colorado to legalize certain aspects of marijuana use. Both Colorado and the State of Washington made similar decisions at voting time last year, but now the courts will have to sort through certain conflicts between state and federal law. As most of our readers probably know, despite the action at the state level in Colorado, marijuana is still considered an illegal drug at the federal level. And now, one of the first court rulings on the subject has some people fearing employment discrimination.

The ruling came from the Colorado Court of Appeals late last month, and the discrimination controversy is over the direct statement that employers are still allowed to fire employees who test positive for marijuana, regardless of the drug's legalization at the state level. The reasoning appears to be based on the fact that marijuana is still illegal at the federal level.

Wal-Mart is one of the world's largest companies with store locations almost everywhere. In the Denver area alone there are 20 Wal-Mart stores. The company is well-known for having a widely diverse selection of goods at low prices. As the company grew many locations were converted to also include grocery sections. Wal-Mart is also one of the companies with the most employees in the nation. That is why when an employee of this company alleges that she was subjected to discrimination, many people may pay close attention, because some of our Colorado readers may know someone who works for Wal-Mart - or they might be a Wal-Mart employee themselves.

According to a recent article, one Wal-Mart store location in particular has been singled out as allowing discriminatory practices in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The victim in this case apparently suffers from a developmental disability, and she has claimed that she was the object of inappropriate conduct on the part of another male employee. The big problem is that in the case that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has filed, it is said that management personnel at the store knew about the harassment and yet failed to do anything about it.

Millions of people in America, including many in Colorado, go through life-and-death medical struggles every year. In some cases these types of issues can have a serious impact on a person's employment. If a medical problem leaves an employee with a disability, or even if the employee is perceived to have a disability due to medical issues, the Americans with Disabilities Act provides certain protections from employment-based discrimination. According to a recent story, a waitress who underwent brain surgery last year may be invoking these protections in her employment discrimination claim.

The story indicates that the waitress, who was employed by a Hooters restaurant in a suburban area, attempted to return to her employment after a brain surgery to remove a noncancerous mass from her head. Apparently the problem was that she was required to shave her head for the surgery, and her employers were not very accepting of this woman returning to work with a buzz-cut and a scar on her head. The woman claims she was informed that she could not return to her position of employment without wearing a wig, which she attempted to do. However, that didn't last long because the woman reportedly thought the wig was interfering with the scar healing on her head. The situation eventually devolved into the employer cutting back the waitress' hours, which then led the woman to quit.

For most of our Colorado readers, hopefully any disagreements they have with a superior in the course of their employment are strictly based on work-related matters. However, anyone familiar with previous posts here knows that this is not always the case for employees throughout the country, and Colorado is not immune to some of the more serious conflicts, such as sexual harassment.

According to a recent report, a Colorado-based employer recently settled this type of discrimination claim with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Under the terms of the settlement the employer, a potato company called Spud Seller Inc., must pay $255,000. This large figure is likely based on the unique circumstances of this particular claim.