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

It’s Called the Bermuda Triangle of Leave for a Reason: It’s Got Three Parts.

Darrell VanDeusen

05/04/2021

I am in the process of updating my FMLA/Wage & Hour treatise published by LEXIS/NEXIS (gratuitous self-promotion). All this means is that I have been reading lots of FMLA cases; my blogs this week will be a teaser for what’s new in the book. As you likely know, the challenges in applying the FMLA, ADA and workers’ compensation law when an employee needs time off from work are, at times, mind-boggling. The interplay of these statutes in...

Kollman & Saucier

04/21/2021

Legislative Developments, State Law, Workplace Safety

Last week, the Maryland General Assembly passed the Maryland Essential Workers’ Protection Act (“EWPA”) (HB 581). The EWPA, formally titled Labor and Employment – Employment Standards During an Emergency (Maryland Essential Workers’ Protection Act) was passed as emergency legislation and will take effect on the date it is signed by the governor (or the date any veto is overridden, if applicable). The EWPA solidifies how an essential...

Kollman & Saucier

04/16/2021

Employment Discrimination, State Law

The Maryland General Assembly has approved legislation aimed at expanding workplace discrimination rights and identifying trends in workplace discrimination complaints to recommend changes in policy. The bills, which now head to Governor Hogan for review, are summarized below. Employment Discrimination- Time For Filing Complaints HB290/SB455 amends Maryland’s Fair Employment Practices Act (FEPA) to extend the time period for filing a charge...

Kollman & Saucier

04/12/2021

Agency Activity, Wage & Hour

On April 9, 2021, the Department of Labor issued revised guidance on the agency’s use of liquidated damages to settle wage violations, rescinding limits imposed by the Trump administration less than a year ago. Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), employers who violate certain provisions of the Act pertaining to minimum wage, overtime, and tipped employees, are liable for unpaid wages plus an additional equal amount as liquidated damages. ...

Vincent Jackson

04/09/2021

Employee Benefits

On April 7, 2021, the Department of Labor released new guidance for the extension of COBRA benefits under the recently passed American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARP). COBRA continuation coverage provides group health plan benefits to individuals who were recently terminated or subject to a reduction in hours that caused a loss of health care coverage. COBRA generally applies to all private-sector group health plans maintained by employers with at...

Vincent Jackson

04/07/2021

Religious Discrimination

This past Monday, the Supreme Court denied certiorari in Small v. Memphis Light, Gas & Water, Docket No. 19-1388, and by doing so batted back a challenge to the longstanding precedent regarding employers’ duties to accommodate religious practices of employees. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 requires accommodation of employees’ religious practices whenever doing so would not cause an “undue hardship.” In 1977, the Supreme...

Kollman & Saucier

03/30/2021

Legislative Developments, State Law

The Maryland General Assembly has passed legislation expanding Maryland’s Flexible Leave Act (MFLA) to apply to bereavement leave. The legislation now goes to Governor Hogan’s desk for signature. The MFLA has required that Maryland private sector employers with at least 15 employees who provide paid leave to their employees allow an employee to use earned paid leave to care for immediate family members (children, spouse, and parents) with an...

Kollman & Saucier

03/26/2021

State Law, Trade Secrets & Restictive Covenants, Uncategorized

The Ban on Non-Compete Amendments Act of 2020 (the Act) is a sweeping piece of legislation that effectively bans the use of all non-compete agreements in the District of Columbia, regardless of income level. Once effective, the Act will: Prohibit the use and enforcement of non-compete agreements for all employees working in D.C., with limited exception; Prohibit anti-moonlighting and other workplace policies that prohibit an employee from...

Kollman & Saucier

03/24/2021

Reasonable Accommodations/Undue Burden, Telework

The case of Brownlow v. Alfa Vision Insurance Co., No. 3:18-cv-01241 (M.D. Tenn. Mar. 22, 2021), involves a set of facts from pre-COVID times (2016 and 2017 to be exact). Mr. Brownlow, a former claims appraiser for an automobile insurance company, was diagnosed with a variety of mental health conditions, including depression, anxiety and PTSD. He requested and was granted the ability to telework as a reasonable accommodation for a period...

Darrell VanDeusen

03/10/2021

Litigation

I watched Perry Mason (played by Raymond Burr from 1957 to 1966) as a kid. More about why that’s relevant in a bit. If you have watched any TV courtroom drama – Matlock (played by Andy Griffith from 1986-1995) works if you were too young to watch Perry Mason – you know the drill: the defense attorney represents falsely accused people and he manages to prove that by drawing out the real criminal on the witness stand, usually...

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Email Updates

It’s Called the Bermuda Triangle of Leave for a Reason: It’s Got Three Parts.

Maryland General Assembly Passes the Maryland Essential Workers’ Protection Act, Bill Currently Awaits Governor Hogan’s Action

Md. General Assembly Approves Legislation Extending Time To File Charges of Discrimination And Expanding Reporting Requirements For Local Agencies

DOL Reverses Policy Limits On Liquidated Damages For Wage Violations In Pre-Litigation Settlements

Department of Labor Releases Guidance for Extension of COBRA Benefits Under the American Rescue Plan

Supreme Court Declines To Set New Standard For Workplace Religious Accommodations

Maryland Flexible Leave Act Expanded To Apply To Bereavement Leave

Non-Competes To Become Non-Existent in D.C.

Telework May Be A Continuing Reasonable Accommodation

“Gotcha Moment” Backfires on Lawyer

Email Updates