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

Election Considerations for Employers

Kollman & Saucier

10/30/2024

Protected Concerted Activity, Voting Leave

Next Tuesday, a contentious campaign season will culminate in millions of Americans making their ways to the polls and casting their ballots. Election season encompasses unique challenges for employers. What duties do Maryland employers have to ensure their employees have an opportunity to vote on election day? And how can employers prevent politics from getting in the way of work? Maryland Voting Leave Law On Election Day (November 5th), employers...

Kollman & Saucier

10/04/2024

Union Activity

Early Tuesday morning, thousands of U.S. dockworkers walked off the job, congesting ports on the East and Gulf coasts. The International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA), the union representing 50,000 U.S. dockworkers at 36 ports from Maine to Texas, was seeking a 77% increase in wages (over six years) and job protection with a ban on some types of automated equipment. With only weeks to go before the 2024 presidential election and in the middle...

Kollman & Saucier

09/17/2024

Legislative Developments, Maryland Law

Some legislation passed during the Maryland General Assembly’s (MGA) most recent session is set to take effect on October 1, 2024. Employers should be aware of a handful of these laws that may impact their business. H.B. 602: Employment Discrimination—Sexual Orientation Last year, the Maryland Supreme Court held, in Doe v. Catholic Relief Services, discrimination “on the basis of sex” did not include sexual orientation under the...

Darrell VanDeusen

08/20/2024

Harassment

That lyric comes from “Ain’t No Crime,” track 3 on Billy Joel’s 1973 album Piano Man. It was his second studio album (after 1971’s Cold Spring Harbor). The title track got all the press (peaking at number 25 on Billboard’s Hot 100) and started Joel on the path to stardom. “Ain’t No Crime” tells the story of navigating a tumultuous relationship, with too much drinkin’, coming home stinkin’, and falling asleep on the floor. ...

Kollman & Saucier

08/12/2024

Litigation, Uncategorized

Deleting emails can be expensive (more than a few Swedish meatballs). A federal judge in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania ordered the popular national retailer, IKEA, to pay more than $566,000 in fees after it failed to preserve emails involved in an age bias class action suit. The class action suit, initiated in 2018, alleges the retailer improperly favored younger workers for promotions and mentoring opportunities. 80 plaintiffs allege IKEA...

Darrell VanDeusen

07/29/2024

Harassment

I started practicing law before the Supreme Court even recognized the validity of hostile work environment harassment (HWE) claims in its groundbreaking case Meritor Savings Bank v. Vinson, 477 U.S. 57 (1986). Developments in this area of employment law over nearly 40 years most recently led to the Court’s decision in Bostock v. Clayton Co., 590 U.S. 644 (2020), protecting invdividuals from discrimination because of their sexuality or gender...

Kollman & Saucier

07/26/2024

Labor Law, NLRB

Some time ago, the Biden administration advanced a joint employer favored by labor unions. By way of a brief, over-simplified example, if a building owner contracts janitorial services to a contractor, and the building owner has the power to control the hours, pay, or other terms of employment, the building owner might be found to be the joint employer with their contractor. A coalition of business groups led by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce...

Kollman & Saucier

07/26/2024

Labor Law

Employers have the option to hire permanent replacements in response to a strike. Often employers do not understand that the replacements retain all the rights of the employees whom they replace. Organized employees have the right to request a union representative be present in an investigatory meeting that may result in disciplinary action or where the employee reasonably suspects disciplinary action may result. Named after a case, that is...

Kollman & Saucier

07/11/2024

OSHA

For those located in the Mid-Atlantic region suffering through the current heat wave, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) proposed rule designed to protect workers from extreme heat may seem perfectly timed. OSHA is a regulatory agency of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). OSHA is tasked with ensuring safe working conditions for private sector employees. The federal agency sets and enforces standards, provides training and...

Kollman & Saucier

07/10/2024

Agency Activity, Legal Developments, Supreme Court Decisions

As early as middle school, we become familiar with the functions of the three branches of government. The legislative branch makes laws, the judicial branch interprets them, and the executive branch enforces them. Perhaps this simplified description is best for teaching young students, but the reality is far more complicated. The federal bureaucracy is sometimes referred to as the “Fourth Branch.” The bureaucracy consists of fifteen Cabinet...

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Election Considerations for Employers

Tentative Agreement Reached to Suspend Dockworkers’ Strike

New Maryland Laws to Take Effect October 1, 2024

“You may love 'em forever. But you won't like 'em all of the time.”

IKEA Pays the Price for Deleting Evidence

Harassment Liability Extends Beyond At-Work Interaction

The NLRB Retreats On The Joint Employer Rule

Replacement employees have right to union representation at investigative interviews, says Seventh Circuit.

OSHA Looks to Keep Workers Cool

The Potential Impact of the Supreme Court Overruling Chevron

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