North Carolina Passes a New Version of its Controversial Bathroom Bill

Kollman & Saucier
Kollman & Saucier
04/04/2017
Last night the North Carolina Tar Heels won their sixth NCAA championship.  This, despite relocation of initial tournament rounds away from Tar Heel state in response to H.B. 2, a controversial law passed by North Carolina that restricted LGBT protections and barred transgender individuals from using restrooms that matched their gender identity. On March 30, 2017, following a year of major economic damage due to organizations-- including the...
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Pharmacist Needled Out Of $2.6M Jury Award

A pharmacist with trypanophobia (a fear of needles, yes I had to Google that), worked for Rite Aid Corp. (and its predecessors) for 34 years.  In 2011, Rite Aid made administering immunizations an explicit job requirement for its pharmacists.  The needle-fearing pharmacist submitted medical notes about his trypanophobia which explained his blood pressure would spike, he would get anxious and lightheaded at the sight of a needle, and could faint,...
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Second Circuit Holds Sexual Orientation Not Protected By Title VII

Kollman & Saucier
Kollman & Saucier
03/28/2017
In a case that has been closely watched, in Christiansen v. Omnicorp Grp., Inc., No. 16-749 (2d Cir. March 27, 2017), a three-judge panel of the Second Circuit decided that a gay, HIV-positive employee is not able to pursue a claim of sexual orientation discrimination under Title VII, concluding that Title VII does not protect against gay bias.  The Second Circuit cut to the case and concluded that absent a ruling by the Supreme Court, or a full...
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Social Media Strikes Again

Kollman & Saucier
Kollman & Saucier
03/24/2017
Here is another tale of social media posts and “likes” getting an employee into hot water.  Again, the culprit is Facebook.  In Grutzmacher, et al. v. Howard County, et al., No. 15-2066, (4th Cir. March 20, 2017), the plaintiffs were a former Howard County, Maryland, Battalion Chief with the Maryland Department of Fire and Rescue Services (“Department”), and a County volunteer paramedic.  While the Court’s opinion sets forth the...
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If At First You Don’t Succeed, Try Again

Kollman & Saucier
Kollman & Saucier
03/22/2017
Readers of this blog are probably familiar with how the appellate court system works.  A party appeals a judge’s factual ruling to an appellate court, which then reviews the lower court’s decision.  Appeals from federal trial courts and federal regulatory boards are usually heard by that circuit’s court of appeal (i.e. the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit). Appeals from the federal appellate courts’ three judge panels...
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Maryland Legislative Update

Kollman & Saucier
Kollman & Saucier
03/17/2017
There is a little over a month left before the Maryland General Assembly adjourns its 2017 legislative session.  Below is a list of some of the employment-related bills that thelegislature is considering or has considered. House Bill 1, the Maryland Healthy Working Families Act, was summarized in a previous blog post.  HB 1 has passed the House and is being considered by the Senate.  HB 1 was cross-filed with Senate Bill 230, which the Senate...
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Employer’s Inconsistent Explanations Permits Claim To Survive Summary Judgment

Kollman & Saucier
Kollman & Saucier
03/15/2017
A recent decision out of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, Caldwell v. KHOU-TV, No. 16-20408 (5th Cir. March 6, 2017), offers an obvious, but important, reminder for employers -- provide consistent reasons for why you make employment decisions.  Be honest.  Be consistent.  Don’t make stuff up.  Otherwise, plaintiff-employees may be able to assail your explanation when and if litigation ensues.  In Caldwell, the plaintiff claimed that he was...
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Virginia Supreme Court Affirms Dismissal of Bowman Claim Based on Protective Order Statutes

Kollman & Saucier
Kollman & Saucier
03/08/2017
On February 23, 2017, the Virginia Supreme Court sustained a demurrer to a complaint alleging a Bowman claim of wrongful termination.  Francis v. National Accrediting Commission of Career Arts & Sciences, Inc. No. 160267.  The Court rejected an employee's claims that the public policy embodied in Virginia Code §§ 19.2-152.7:1 through 19.2-152.10 (the Protective Order Statutes) provides the basis for a wrongful discharge claim. According to...
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Virginia Court Strikes Down Homebuilder's Non-Compete Agreement

On February 14, 2017, a federal judge denied a home builders’ motion for a preliminary injunction to stop a former employee covered by a non-compete agreement from working for a competing builder.  Applying Virginia law, Judge Liam O’Grady of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Alexandria Division, ruled that the geographic scope of the non-compete was overbroad and, therefore, the agreement was invalid.  NVR,...
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Non-Renewal of Contract or Termination?

Employers often think that not renewing an employee’s contract is somehow qualitatively different from a termination of employment.  In some cases, and in certain limited circumstances, that may be true.  It is not true, however, with regard to statutory retaliation claims (e.g., my contract was not renewed because I engaged in activity protected by Title VII, the ADA, the FLSA, or some other statute containing anti-retaliation provisions).  In...
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