The Employment Brief | Employment Law | Kollman & Saucier, P.A.

The FMLA and the “Personal Staff” Exemption

Darrell VanDeusen

07/22/2014

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 This decision follows a recent unpublished Sixth Circuit decision in Horen v. Cook, 2013 U.S. App.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...

Kollman & Saucier

07/16/2014

Pregnancy Discrimination

For the first time since 1983, and partly addressing issues pending before the U.S. Supreme Court (see Alex Berg’s July 9 blog titled, “Supreme Court Will Decide What Accommodations Employers Must Make For Pregnant Employees”), the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) on Monday issued new enforcement guidelines on pregnancy discrimination under the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (“PDA”) that also cover possible workplace...

Kollman & Saucier

07/15/2014

Business Law

In Maryland, and in approximately twenty states, the answer is “yes.” In an unusual (though modern) move, the Anne Arundel Medical Center (the “Hospital”) recently announced that starting in July 2015 it plans on no longer hiring smokers. Like a growing number of health systems, universities and other businesses, the Hospital will require a urine test for nicotine use for all job applicants. The policy will not affect existing employees,...

Kollman & Saucier

07/11/2014

Agency Activity, Supreme Court Decisions

As discussed recently, the Supreme Court’s decision in NLRB v. Noel Canning is expected to have significant ramifications for the NLRB (the “Board”) and the parties who previously appeared before the Board in 2012 and the first half of 2013, when the unconstitutional recess appointments of Members Block, Flynn and Griffin continued to leave the NLRB without a quorum. Richard Griffin, one of the three recess appointees who was since confirmed...

Kollman & Saucier

07/09/2014

Disability & Leave, Pregnancy Discrimination, Supreme Court Decisions

Until recently, the United Parcel Service (UPS) utilized the well-known slogan, “What can brown do for you?” After deciding last Monday to hear Young v. UPS during its next term, the Supreme Court will be faced with the question of “what brown must do” for its pregnant employees under federal law. (The Fourth Circuit’s decision and the briefs filed in the case (to date) can be found here.) In Young, the plaintiff, Peggy Young, was covered...

Kollman & Saucier

07/02/2014

Affordable Care Act, Supreme Court Decisions

On Monday, June 30, 2014, the Supreme Court issued its highly-anticipated decision in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc., U.S., No. 13-354, 6/30/14, ruling 5-4 that owners of closely held for-profit corporations with sincerely held religious beliefs can opt out of the Affordable Care Act mandate that requires them to provide employee health insurance coverage for contraception. Under the Affordable Care Act, employers with 50 or more employees must...

Frank Kollman

07/01/2014

Labor Law, Public Sector Employment Law

The Supreme Court has ruled that a mother receiving state financial assistance to care for her disabled child does not have to pay union dues. Can you believe that there were four justices who disagreed with that ruling, and the Secretary of Labor has already criticized the decision? Certainly there has to be more to the story. The issue the Court was asked to decide was the result of increased union power over governmental officials it helps to...

Kollman & Saucier

06/30/2014

Affordable Care Act

Under the Affordable Care Act, eligible small-business employers can now receive a tax credit for offering health coverage to their employees. Final rules and regulations regarding the tax credit were released, and become effective, today. Who is Eligible To qualify for the tax credit an employer must: Have no more than 25 full-time equivalent (FTE) employees Have maximum annual average wages of $ 50,000 Pay at least 50% of employee health...

Kollman & Saucier

06/27/2014

Agency Activity, Labor Law, Supreme Court Decisions

As part of its end of term productivity, on Thursday, June 26, 2014, the Supreme Court issued its much anticipated decision in NLRB v. Noel Canning, regarding President Obama’s authority to grant recess appointments to fill vacant Board positions and avoid the Senate confirmation process of those Board members. The Noel Canning decision specifically involved President Obama’s recess appointments of Sharon Block, Terence Flynn, and Richard...

Kollman & Saucier

06/24/2014

Agency Activity, FMLA

The Department of Labor announced on June 20, 2014, that it would be issuing a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) confirming that employees are eligible for leave to care for a same-sex spouse under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) regardless of their state of residence. Secretary Tom Perez announced that the proposed revisions would ensure that the FMLA applied to all families equally, permitting same sex marriage partners to fully...

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Email Updates

The FMLA and the “Personal Staff” Exemption

EEOC Issues Enforcement Guidance on Pregancy Discrimination

You Mean They Can Legally Not Hire Me Because I Smoke?

NLRB General Counsel Offers Input on Practical Effects of Noel Canning

Supreme Court Will Decide What Accommodations Employers Must Make for Pregnant Employees

Supreme Court Limits ACA's Contraception Mandate

Supreme Court Limits Scope of Compulsory Membership Dues for Government Unions

New ACA Small Business Tax Credit Regulations Released

Supreme Court Issues Unanimous Decision, "Canning" Obama's Recess NLRB Appointments

DOL Takes Action So That FMLA Applies To Same-Sex Spouses Everywhere

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