Announcing Kollman, Saucier & Jackson, P.A. and our relocation to Hunt Valley Read More
Email Updates

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Business Community Responds to Administration's Transgender Discrimination Memorandum

Kollman, Saucier, & Jackson
10/13/2017
Employment Discrimination, Sexual Orientation
The ink was still fresh on the DOJ’s October 4 memorandum recanting the federal government’s position that Title VII protects transgender individuals at work, as a drove of major U.S. businesses responded in opposition. In an amicus brief filed October 10, a group of 76 businesses and organizations demands equality in the workplace and urges the U.S. Supreme Court to grant certiorari in Evans v. Georgia Regional Hospital.  Evans involves...
read more

The Trump Administration’s Triple Play

Kollman, Saucier, & Jackson
10/10/2017
Legal Developments, Legislative Developments
October is ordinarily marked by shorter days, cooler weather, vibrant foliage, and the start of the MLB postseason.  Indeed, as the games began last week, the Trump administration made a triple play of its own sort with a series of major labor and employment law-related actions. Restoring a Stricter Joint Employer Standard On October 4, a House committee advanced the Save Local Business Act in order to constrict the definition of joint...
read more

Case Dismissed: Judge Rules Allied Fire Can’t Compete in Court

Kollman, Saucier, & Jackson
10/06/2017
Restrictive Covenants, Trade Secrets & Restictive Covenants
A case decided this week by a Maryland federal court highlights the importance of careful drafting when it comes to non-compete agreements. Allied Fire Protection, Inc. v. Huy Thai, No. 17-551 (D. Md. 10/2/17).  In this case, Allied Fire Protection sought to enforce such an agreement when defendant Thai, a high-level employee, left to join Allied’s competitor.  Specifically, the agreement prohibited Thai from directly or indirectly engaging in...
read more

Class Actions, Collective Bargaining and a Colorado Cakeshop: Why The Supreme Court’s Fall Term Matters for Employers

Kollman, Saucier, & Jackson
10/03/2017
Supreme Court Decisions
The 2017-2018 Supreme Court  term could be a very significant one for employment law.  With a newly constituted conservative majority, the Court is poised to decide three cases that will likely have far-reaching implications on public sector collective bargaining, class action litigation, and discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. Are Class Action Waivers in Arbitration Agreements Legal? The Supreme Court kicked off its fall term on...
read more

When One Word Is Too Much... Single Racial Slur May Support Hostile Work Environment Claim

Kollman, Saucier, & Jackson
10/01/2017
Hostile Work Environment, Race Discrimination
In Castleberry v. STI Group, No. 16-3131 (3d Cir. 2017), the Third Circuit Court of Appeals held that a manager's one-time use of a racial slur, combined with his threat to fire a Black employee, could be enough to support a Section 1981 hostile work environment claim. Two Black laborers sued their staffing agency (STI) and the client location where they were placed (Chesapeake Energy Group) based on their treatment at Chesapeake. They were not...
read more

In A Surprising ADA Plot Twist, The Seventh Circuit Affirms Additional Leave Is Not Always The Answer!

Kollman, Saucier, & Jackson
09/27/2017
Disability & Leave, Reasonable Accommodations/Undue Burden
Employers with employees on leave often wrestle with the situation where the employee has exhausted all leave available under policy and statute, but are still not able to return to work and seek additional time off, usually supported by a doctor's note. While the FMLA or similar statutory leave may no longer be available, I know I am often discussing with my clients whether further leave should be offered due to potential reasonable accommodation...
read more

Department of Labor Issues New Minimum Wage for Federal Contractors

Kollman, Saucier, & Jackson
09/22/2017
Agency Activity
On September 15, 2017, the Department of Labor issued a Notice setting forth the new minimum wage applicable to federal contractors covered by Executive Order 13658.  Effective January 1, 2018, the hourly wage will increase from $10.20 per hour to $10.35 per hour.  The wage rate for tipped employees will also increase to $7.25 per hour.  Covered contractors must advise their employees of the increase. Executive Order 13658 applies to all...
read more

President Trump Appoints Peter B. Robb to NLRB General Counsel Post

Kollman, Saucier, & Jackson
09/19/2017
Agency Activity, Labor Law
On September 15, 2017, President Trump appointed Peter Robb to be General Counsel of the NLRB for a four year term.  Robb is a management-side attorney, who had previously served as chief counsel to former NLRB Member Robert Hunter. The General Counsel decides what actions to bring before the NLRB, and also has the authority to dismiss charges.  It is widely expected that Robb will roll-back guidance promulgated by President Obama’s General...
read more

Nuclear, Nucular, and Reasonable Accommodations

Kollman, Saucier, & Jackson
09/14/2017
Disability & Leave
Remember when President George W. Bush, when discussing nuclear weapons, pronounced the word “nuclear” as “nucular”? It is probably no surprise that reading ability is important when it comes to those who work with nuclear materials. It is also unsurprising that a reasonable accommodation may be appropriate for someone who works with nuclear materials, but who also has a disability. In Sanchez v. U.S. Dep’t of Energy, No. 16-2056 (10th Cir....
read more

Failure to Accommodate Breastfeeding Police Officer Costs Alabama City

Kollman, Saucier, & Jackson
09/12/2017
Employment Discrimination, Pregnancy Discrimination
In Young v. UPS, Inc., the Supreme Court concluded that an employee who alleges that the denial of an accommodation amounted to disparate treatment under the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA) may set forth a prima facie case by showing that she belongs to PDA’s protected class, she sought an accommodation, the employer refused to provide an accommodation, and the employer accommodated others “similar in their ability or inability to work.” ...
read more
Email Updates

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.