Know The Essential Functions of the Jobs In Your Workplace

Kollman & Saucier
Kollman & Saucier
02/01/2019
The essential functions of a job are those duties that an employee must be able to perform, with or without reasonable accommodation.   The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) advises that employers should consider the following factors to determine whether a function is essential: whether the position exists to perform the function; the number of other employees available to perform the function or among whom the performance of the...
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NLRB Restores Independent Contractor Analysis

Kollman & Saucier
Kollman & Saucier
01/29/2019
This past Friday, the National Labor Relations Board, in 3-1 decision, revitalized the importance of “entrepreneurial opportunity” in the analysis of whether a worker is an employee or independent contractor for purposes of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA).  SuperShuttle DFW, Inc., 367 NLRB No. 75 (Jan. 25, 2019).  The distinction between employee and independent contractor status is important, because the former is protected by the NLRA...
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Virginia General Assembly Considering Bills to Allow Employees to Sue for Unpaid Wages

Kollman & Saucier
Kollman & Saucier
01/29/2019
Unlike many states, Virginia does not provide a statutory right for employees to sue their employer for unpaid wages.  At present, an employee is limited to filing a complaint with the state Department of Labor & Industry or filing suit for breach of contract. However, two bills introduced by Delegates from both sides of the aisle may soon change that. House Bills 1687 and 2524 would both amend Virginia Code Section 40.1-29 to allow employees...
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Maryland Court Dismisses Discrimination Claims Based on Employer's Background Check

Kollman & Saucier
Kollman & Saucier
01/24/2019
In the Internet age, many employers take it upon themselves to do their own "informal" background check on new hires by Googling the person's name to see what comes up.  While it is not illegal to conduct such searches, a recent court decision from a Maryland federal judge shows that these searches may lead to litigation. In the case of Bing v. Brivo Systems, LLC, No. PX-18-1543 (D. Md. 1/22/19), Plaintiff Bing applied for a  job as a Customer...
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Court Orders Employee to Turn Over Social Media Posts

Kollman & Saucier
Kollman & Saucier
01/22/2019
When an employee files a lawsuit against their employer, the employer often asks for discovery into the employee’s personal life.  While many of these discovery disputes have focused on subjects such as medical and financial records, recent battles have focused on social media accounts.  A recent decision from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan found that an employer does have the right to delve into Facebook...
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Supreme Court to Decide if EEOC Charge Filing is Jurisdictional or Administrative

The Supreme Court has granted a writ certiorari to address the question of whether Title VII’s requirement of the need to file a charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) before going to court is a jurisdictional or administrative exhaustion requirement.  The case comes from the Fifth Circuit and has been bouncing around the lower courts for many years.  Davis v. Fort Bend Cty., 893 F.3d 300 (5th Cir. 2018), cert....
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Now Where Did I Put Those Confidential Documents?

Darrell VanDeusen
Darrell VanDeusen
01/13/2019
Note:  This is a story about an employment issue at the NLRB.  Apropos of nothing perhaps, the NLRB has been open throughout the Government Shutdown, while the EEOC has been closed. We all misplace stuff, right?  I found my car keys right where I left them.  And my glasses were right on my forehead, which my wife pointed out to me.   But, in 34 years of law practice, I have never misplaced (read “lost”) confidential documents. I do recall...
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Fifth Circuit To Consider Claim Of “Reverse” Sexual Orientation Bias

Clifford Geiger
Clifford Geiger
01/09/2019
On January 11, 2019, the Supreme Court will consider whether to take any one of three cases that may clarify whether Title VII’s prohibition on discrimination based on sex includes discrimination against LGBT applicants and employees.  At the same time, a heterosexual woman in Louisiana is trying to convince a federal appeals court that she was discriminated against because of her heterosexual orientation when she was fired by a gay supervisor,...
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Good News and . . . Interesting News

Kollman & Saucier
Kollman & Saucier
01/04/2019
Happy 2019 to everyone! First, we begin the year with some good news: Kollman & Saucier is pleased to announce that it has been named a Tier 1 firm in Baltimore for both Employment Law – Management and Labor Law – Management by U.S. News – Best Lawyers® in 2019.  As Best Lawyers explains, its ratings are based exclusively on peer review by other attorneys within the same geographical community and legal practice areas.  Darrell...
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Employee Grooming Standards: Ensuring Your Policy Complies With Title VII

Last week, as many readers are likely aware, a high school wrestling referee in New Jersey ordered an African American student wrestler tocut his dreadlocksimmediately prior to a match, or else forfeit the match.  According to the referee, the dreadlocks and head covering the wrestler offered to wear violated the league’s rules.  A video of the controversial haircut hit the internet, quickly inciting responses from many people that the...
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