November 2005

WIN AT WORK MONTHLY

 

A Community Service of

SESSIONS & KIMBALL LLP, Employee Rights Attorneys

 

 

Win at Work

 

Employee Rights Update

 

INDICATIONS OF STRESS

 

            Are you stressed out at work?  There are both emotional and legal advantages in recognizing stress.

            One psychologist asks his patients to answer 12 basic questions with “never” (1 point), “sometimes” (2 points), or “often” (3 points).  Evaluate your own responses.

·        Have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep?

·        Any major changes in your appetite?

·        Energy level changed?

·        Need medication to calm down or sleep?

·        Use alcohol regularly?

·        Feel more pessimistic than normal?”

·        Have bad dreams regularly?

·        Fearful on a regular basis?

·        Changes in attention or concentration?

·        Short-term memory problems?

·        Rapid heartbeats, trouble breathing, headaches, or stomachaches?

·        Recent dizziness, nausea or numbness?

            Answers are scored as “no stress” (12‑14), “mild stress” (15‑17), “moderate stress” (18-23), or “significant stress” (24-36). 

            The challenge is first to determine if there is a problem, and then seek help from a psychologist or attorney to identify causes, legal rights and solutions.

 

 

MEDICAL MARIJUANA

 

            The California Court of Appeal recently held that an employee may be terminated for using medical marijuana (Ross v. Raging Wire Telecommunications, Inc. (2005) 132 Cal.App.4th 590).  In the Ross case, the employee was terminated soon after being hired when a pre-employment drug test revealed that he had tested positive for marijuana. 

            Under California’s Compassionate Use Act, a doctor may prescribe marijuana for medical purposes.  However, under Federal law, the use or possession of marijuana remains a crime.  In the Ross case, the employee had been prescribed marijuana by his doctor after he failed to obtain relief from traditional pain medications.  The employee argued that terminating him because he used prescribed marijuana was a form of disability discrimination and a failure to accommodate.  Unpersuaded, the court found that because of the use of marijuana is a Federal crime, employers are not required to accommodate an employee’s use of the drug and may terminate an employee who does so. 

 

                             Michael S. Ahmad, Attorney

 

 Update on our attorneys:  Heidi Hutchinson was elected as the Chair-Elect of the Labor and Employment Section of the Orange County Bar Association. 

 

 

 Look for our answers to employees’ questions in the “Life and Work Q & A” column of the Orange County Register’s "Business Monday" magazine.  E-mail us at info@job-law.com to have your address added or removed from our monthly mailing list.  For more employee rights information or for past issues of Win at Work Monthly, click here for our website, job-law.com; here to order our book, Employee Rights in California; or contact our office directly at 23456 Madero, Suite 170, Mission Viejo, CA 92691, (949) 380-0900, (800) 774-7494, info@job-law.com.  The Win at Work portion of Win at Work Monthly is from our ongoing syndicated column, which appears in the Los Angeles Times’ “Career Builder Magazine” and elsewhere.  Win at Work Monthly is intended for general information and should not be construed as legal advice or opinion.  Readers in need of legal advice should promptly retain the services of an attorney.  ©2005 by Sessions & Kimball LLP