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

Trump Nominates Acosta to Head Department of Labor

Kollman, Saucier, & Jackson

02/17/2017

As readers of this blog may be aware, in yesterday's post, I called attention to the fact that there was no replacement pick lined up for the Secretary of Labor. Less than twenty-four hours after Andrew Puzder’s decision to withdraw his nomination, President Trump selected R. Alexander “Alex” Acosta to head the DOL. If confirmed, Acosta would be the first Hispanic member of the current Cabinet. (For anyone wondering, Alex Acosta is not...

Kollman, Saucier, & Jackson

02/16/2017

Agency Activity, Labor Law, Political Appointments

Two months ago, nearly to the day, I wrote about Andrew Puzder’s nomination as Secretary of Labor in the Trump administration. After having his confirmation hearings before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee pushed back four times, and with hearings finally set for today, Puzder withdrew from consideration yesterday afternoon. While supporters of the nomination touted Puzder’s business record as the owner of CKE...

Kollman, Saucier, & Jackson

02/09/2017

Agency Activity

On February 3, the EEOC extended the public input period on its draft harassment enforcement guidance for an additional 40 days. The EEOC released its draft harassment enforcement guidance for public input initially on January 10. Following a 2016 task force study, the EEOC concluded that harassment in the workplace remains a serious problem, reporting in the document that in 2015, nearly one third of approximately 90,000 charges the EEOC...

Kollman, Saucier, & Jackson

02/06/2017

Legislative Developments, State Law

In January, Maryland lawmakers proposed H.B. 398 and S.B. 404 to amend Maryland’s Equal Pay Act. The Act, codified at Md. Code Ann., Lab. & Emp. § 3-301 et seq., generally prohibits discrimination in pay based on sex or gender identity for employees who work in the same establishment and perform similar jobs or work on the same operation, in the same business, or of the same type. Under § 3-304.1 of the Act, employers are...

Kollman, Saucier, & Jackson

02/02/2017

Supreme Court Decisions

It was a chatty ride to preschool with my Girl Child yesterday morning. We watched President Trump’s announcement of his SCOTUS nominee, Tenth Circuit Judge Neil Gorsuch last night, and she was engaging me in a game of rapid fire questions in an attempt to sort out the meaning of “nominee” in her four year old brain. What does that mean? What if they [Congress] say “No?” When do we get the real answer? And (my favorite): Will Judge...

Kollman, Saucier, & Jackson

01/30/2017

Agency Activity, Disability & Leave

The EEOC issued a resource document last month that discusses employee rights in the workplace related to mental health conditions. Below is a summary of key points: It Is Illegal to Discriminate Against an Employee Based on a Mental Health Condition. Discrimination includes, among other things, discharge, failure to hire or promote, and forced leave. Employers are not required to hire or retain employees who pose a “direct threat” to...

Kollman, Saucier, & Jackson

01/25/2017

Affordable Care Act, Legislative Developments

It has been five days since his inauguration, and the world continues to turn (and Trump continues to Tweet). Thus far, we have seen remarks on attendance figures at the Inauguration, "alternative facts," Cabinet appointments, and a slew of Executive Orders. Without getting into the politics of it all, here are some key highlights of Trump's first few days: Federal agencies have been instructed to freeze all pending regulations, which would...

Kollman, Saucier, & Jackson

01/20/2017

FMLA

Well, you know the rest. Unfortunately, a management-level employee in Florida perhaps doesn’t. In Holtrey v. Collier County Board of County Commissioners, an employee developed a chronic and serious problem with his genito-urinary system. He consequently applied for, and was granted, leave pursuant to the Family and Medical Leave Act. In doing so, he disclosed to his employer sensitive medical information, which a management-level...

Kollman, Saucier, & Jackson

01/18/2017

Age Discrimination, Employment Discrimination

In Karlo, et al. v. Pittsburgh Glass Works, LLC (no. 15-3435; filed January 10, 2017), the Third Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that plaintiffs in an ADEA disparate impact claim can make out a prima facie case by showing that certain age subgroups within the protected class were treated differently from other subgroups within that same class. Put another way, an employer cannot simply lump all those employees over the age of 40 into one pot when...

Kollman, Saucier, & Jackson

01/12/2017

Hostile Work Environment, Race Discrimination

An employer can avoid liability for one employee’s harassment of another employee if it takes prompt remedial action to address that harassment. One way to do this is for an employer to conduct an investigation, counsel the involved employees, and/or discipline the harassing employee. On the other hand, telling an employee who complains about racial harassment to “shut up, n***er” is not the right way to address harassment complaints....

< 1 … 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 … 128 >

Email Updates

Trump Nominates Acosta to Head Department of Labor

Puzder Withdraws From Consideration For Secretary Of Labor

EEOC Extends Public Input Period on Draft Workplace Harassment Guidelines

Maryland Legislators Considering Bills to Restrict Pre-Employment Salary Inquiries

Trump Nominates Gorsuch to Fill Vacant Supreme Court Seat

EEOC Issues New Guidance on Accommodating Mental Health Disorders

President Trump Is Here...

If You Don’t Have Anything Nice to Say, ...

Appellate Court Holds That ADEA Plaintiffs Can Use Employees Over 40 as Comparators

Former Chipotle Employee To Get Trial on Racial Harassment Claim

Email Updates