Guide to Medical Labor Laws

Image source: www.californialegal.org
In the U.S., employment discrimination occurs whenever an employer or its representatives adversely single out employees or applicants on the basis of age, race, gender, sexual orientation, disability, religion and a variety of other reasons.

According to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), employers can’t discriminate against you in any aspect of employment, such as:
 Hiring and firing
 Compensation, assignment, or classification of employees
 Transfer, promotion, layoff, or recall
 Job advertisements
 Recruitment
 Testing
 Use of company facilities
 Training and apprenticeship programs
 Fringe benefits
 Pay, retirement plans, and disability leave

But to be “illegal” discrimination, your employer must be in violation of a specific state or Federal law (statute), regulation or constitutional provision. Otherwise, you are not generally protected from discrimination, however unfair or unethical it may seem.

For example, if your boss is much harder on you than anyone else for no apparent reason, while it might be unethical behavior for a boss, it’s not discrimination by law. But if he or she is extra hard on you for a reason that’s protected by law, such as your religion, age or sex, then its illegal discrimination, especially if you suffer damage such as getting passed over for a well-deserved raise or promotion.

Asthma drug Singulair’s safety is currently under probe by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) due to reports linking the use of the drug to negative behavioral changes. Singulair (montelukast) is a prescription drug formulated for the treatment of asthma and allergic rhinitis.

MedicalNewsToday.com reports that FDA made the announcement on yesterday through its Centre for Drug Evaluation and Research website pointing out that there is no ban yet of the drugs in the market. Further analyses will be conducted to know if regulatory actions are necessary. Asthma patients then will have to wait for the investigation to get completed before deciding to dump the pill or continue its use.

For the link to the article, click here.

An article from HealthLaw360.Com reports that the Food and Drug Administration advised Cephalon, Inc., maker of sleep disorder drug Provigil, to provide stronger warning label that would tell doctors not to recommend the drug to kids.

Provigil is one of the best-selling products of the drug company and is currently approved by the FDA for prescription by doctors to patients suffering from narcolepsy, shift work sleep disorder and sleep apnea. This is in view of the cases reported that the drug causes side effects like skin rush to children under 16 years of age.

This move by the FDA is laudable as it clearly shows that children safety is one of their priorities.

For the link to the article, click here.