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Maryland Employers Required to Report Sex Harassment Settlements By July 1st

Kollman & Saucier
06/06/2020
Agency Activity, Sexual Harassment
In May 2018, we posted about the “Disclosing Sexual Harassment in the Workplace Act of 2018” (“Act”).  The Act went into effect on October 1, 2018 and has a sunset provision for June 30, 2023.  The Act established the requirement for employers with at least 50 employees (at all locations, not exclusively working in Maryland) to submit a survey to the Maryland Commission on Civil Rights (“MCCR”) regarding sexual harassment in the...
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Fourth Circuit: Allege Your Discrimination Claim with More Specificity

Kollman & Saucier
05/28/2020
Employment Discrimination
In January 2019, my friend and partner Eric Paltell wrote a blog for our website on the Maryland District Court’s dismissal of a race discrimination complaint based on a supervisor’s Google search of a new employee.  Last week, the Fourth Circuit affirmed that decision in a split three judge panel ruling.  Bing v. Brivo Systems, LLC, 2020 U.S. App. LEIXS 16003 (4th Cir. May 19, 2020). A review of the alleged facts and the result bear...
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Who is a Healthcare Provider for FMLA Eligibility?

Kollman & Saucier
05/27/2020
FMLA
No question, we are in a time of high anxiety.  Friends, family and pretty much everyone else I talk to has a story about how they are dealing with the new normal in the time of COVID-19.  We all need someone to talk through stuff with.  I suspect that many Employee Assistance Plans will see an uptick in use over course of 2020. But does the person you talk to qualify as a health care provider under the FMLA?  A recent case from...
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Starting May 1st, Employers Must Use Form I-9 Dated 10/21/2019 For New Hires

Kollman & Saucier
05/13/2020
Immigration
The completion of a Form I-9 (Form) by an employer and their new hire is a requirement of the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986. It is used to verify the identity and employment authorization of individuals hired for employment in the U.S. All U.S. employers and their new hires must complete the form. This includes citizen and noncitizen employees.  The Form is not filed with any government agency, but employers must retain a completed...
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Maryland Passes Mini-WARN Act Effective October 1, 2020

Kollman & Saucier
05/09/2020
State Law, WARN
Maryland employers wrestling  with the onerous challenges posed by the COVID-19 crisis, will soon have a new legal obligation to meet when reducing their workforces.  Effective October 1, 2020, the Economic Stabilization Act will require employers to provide employees 60 days written notice of a reduction in operations that will result in lay-offs or terminations. The new law  requires the Secretary of the Department of Labor,...
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Zoom Talk Recording: Reopening and Reintegrating The Workplace

Kollman & Saucier
05/08/2020
COVID-19
Thank you to everyone who participated in our May 1, 2020 hour-long Zoom Talk, where Garrett Wozniak discussed a variety of issues connected to employers preparing for the reopening and/or reintegration of employees into the workplace.  We have uploaded a recording of the Zoom Talk here so you may review it at your convenience.  Please feel free to reach out to any Kollman & Saucier attorney with...
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And Now for Something Completely Different: Non-Covid DOL Opinion Letters

Kollman & Saucier
04/01/2020
Wage & Hour
The NLRB is shuttered.  Everyone at the EEOC is teleworking.  In the midst of all that is going on around us it is somewhat comforting I guess to know that there is still business as usual at the Department of Labor.  Last week, the DOL Wage and Hour Administrator Cheryl Stanton issued three new Opinion Letters interpreting the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).  You can find all FLSA DOL Opinion Letters at...
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Employer's Guide to Key Provisions of the CARES Act

Kollman & Saucier
03/30/2020
COVID-19
Last Friday, President Trump signed into law the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act” or “the Act”).  The two trillion-dollar relief package includes expanded unemployment assistance for workers, relief loans (with strings attached) for businesses, payroll tax credits and deferrals, and modifications on employees’ ability to access retirement savings accounts.  This article provides employers with an overview of...
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It’s Baaack! The FMLA Notice Conundrum Returns to the Seventh Circuit

Kollman & Saucier
02/11/2020
Disability & Leave, FMLA
When I speak or provide training on the FMLA, I often start by apologizing on behalf of Congress and the Department of Labor.  Congress, for creating a law the way you design a horse by committee (it comes out looking like a camel); the DOL for implementing regulations that you need legal expertise to follow and get right (and even then it is sometimes a crap shoot). For sure, the toughest FMLA area for employers is accommodating unforeseen,...
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Does “Zone of Interest” Retaliation Require Employment?

Kollman & Saucier
02/10/2020
Retaliation
In her blog post of January 27, 2020, my partner Bernadette Hunton reported on the EEOC’s charge statistics in the 2019 fiscal year.  According to the EEOC, nearly 54% of the 72,675 charges filed in fiscal 2019 included a retaliation component. Now, this percentage may be somewhat meaningless.  A charging party need only check the box on a form to raise a claim, regardless of whether the actual elements of retaliation exist (i.e., a good...
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