Kollman, Saucier, & Jackson, Author at Kollman, Saucier & Jackson P.A.

Congress Considering Bills for a More “Transparent” EEOC

Kollman, Saucier, & Jackson

09/23/2014

Agency Activity, Employment Discrimination

Any lawyer who has defended an employer sued by the EEOC knows that sometimes – not always – it can be a real challenge, facing an unrelenting assault by a government agency that seems bent on destruction. Sure, you might run into a private practice plaintiff’s lawyer who is uncivil, who is unwilling to discuss reasonable settlement terms, and whose mission in life is to ratchet up attorneys’ fees and/or drive the employer into bankruptcy....

Kollman, Saucier, & Jackson

09/11/2014

Disability & Leave, Employment Discrimination

Even under the best of circumstances, most of us view rental car counters the way we view airport security: essential to get where we are going, but not a place we want to spend more time than absolutely necessary. The circumstances of one Hawaii rental car counter as described recently in Assaturian v. Hertz Motor Corp. provide a particularly memorable, messy example of this phenomenon. John Assaturian was a long-time Hertz employee who served from...

Kollman, Saucier, & Jackson

09/10/2014

Employment Discrimination

Remedying a problem in the wrong way may end up creating more problems for an employer than it solves. In EEOC v. New Prime, Inc., a federal court in Missouri held in that an employer’s policy enacted in response to an earlier sexual harassment suit brought against it was facially discriminatory on the basis of sex. New Prime, Inc. (“Prime”), an interstate trucking company, requires its drivers to have or to acquire a Commercial...

Kollman, Saucier, & Jackson

08/27/2014

FMLA

The DOL’s FMLA Regulations are pretty clear on when you can take action against an employee for failing to provide medical certification. Section 825.305(d) provides that: “At the time the employer requests certification, the employer must also advise an employee of the anticipated consequences of an employee’s failure to provide adequate certification.” 29 C.F.R. § 825.305(d). FedEx recently learned the hard – and expensive – way from...

Kollman, Saucier, & Jackson

08/18/2014

State Law, Wage & Hour

Last week, the Maryland Court of Appeals issued its opinion in Peters v. Early Healthcare Giver, Inc. a case that dramatically shifts the terrain of Maryland wage and hour law in employees’ favor. September Term 2013, No. 86 (Md. Aug. 13, 2014). Most significantly, Peters holds that employees suing for unpaid overtime may now be able to recover three times the amount of overtime at issue for a period of three years prior to filing suit. It is...

Kollman, Saucier, & Jackson

08/04/2014

Employment Discrimination, Legislative Developments, Medical/Legal Marijuana

An employee with terminal illness or severe pain obtains medical marijuana from a licensed dispensary. His or her employer, however, maintains a drug-free workplace policy that provides for employee drug testing. What can an employer do under these circumstances? This post is designed to provide a basic snapshot of the current state of the law, and the prominent issues that employers face. As detailed below, employers are generally blanketed...

Kollman, Saucier, & Jackson

08/04/2014

Employment Discrimination, Hiring Process, Legislative Developments

Following in the footsteps of Baltimore and a number of other states and localities, the District of Columbia City Council recently approved a “ban the box” bill that prohibits employers from asking about a job applicant’s criminal history until after making a conditional job offer. In a D.C.-specific wrinkle, the bill, known as the Fair Criminal Record Screening Act of 2014 (“the Act”), must first be approved both by Mayor Vincent Gray...

Kollman, Saucier, & Jackson

07/24/2014

Employment Discrimination

Any employment lawyer knows that, when assessing claims of “disparate treatment,” it’s less about what exactly happened and more about how the plaintiff was treated when compared to similarly situated employees. The Seventh Circuit recently looked at just that issue in reinstating the harassment and sex discrimination claims of a former Indiana prison employee who was fired for having sex at work. Orton-Bell v. Indiana, 2014 U.S. App. LEXIS...

Kollman, Saucier, & Jackson

07/23/2014

Employment Discrimination

On July 21, 2014, President Obama issued an Executive Order banning discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity by federal contractors. The Executive Order amends two existing executive orders: E.O. 11246, which applies to federal contractors, by adding sexual orientation and gender identity to the list of classes protected from employment discrimination; and E.O. 11478, which applies to government agencies, to explicitly prohibit...

Kollman, Saucier, & Jackson

07/22/2014

FMLA

The Eighth Circuit has held that a public employee could not proceed with her claim under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) because she was on the personal staff of an elected official. Hemminghaus v. Missouri, 2014 U.S. App. LEXIS 12376 (8th Cir. July 1, 2014). This decision follows a recent unpublished Sixth Circuit decision in Horen v. Cook, 2013 U.S. App. LEXIS 20737 (6th Cir. Oct. 10. 2013) and a 2005 decision from the Fifth Circuit in...

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Congress Considering Bills for a More “Transparent” EEOC

This Workplace Really is Going to the Dogs

Same Sex Trainer Policy for Truck Drivers Runs Afoul of Title VII

Failure to Follow FMLA Rule Costs FedEx Big Time

Maryland’s Highest Court Holds That Employees May Recover Treble Damages for Unpaid Overtime

Drug-Free Workplaces In The Era Of Medical And/or Legal Marijuana Use

D.C. Is The Latest Jurisdiction To "Ban The Box"

Court Revives Harassment Claim of Employee Who Had Office “Romance”

President Issues Executive Order on LGBT Protections

The FMLA and the “Personal Staff” Exemption

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Author: Kollman, Saucier, & Jackson

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