The Final Persuader Rule Is Here, For Now.

Kollman & Saucier
Kollman & Saucier
03/24/2016
On March 23, 2016, the Department of Labor revealed its long-time coming final rule that requires certain disclosures now be made for outside labor relations consultants who assist employers during union organizing activity or collective bargaining, and which are no longer protected under the "advice" exemption under the disclosure obligations.  The reporting requirements under Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act will now include any third...
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Economic Realities May Make HR Manager Liable for FMLA Violation

Darrell VanDeusen
Darrell VanDeusen
03/22/2016
Addressing the issue for the first time, the Second Circuit has held that supervisors can be individually liable for violations of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), 29 U.S.C. §§ 2601 et seq.  Graziadio v. Culinary Inst. of America, 2016 U.S. App. LEXIS 4861 (2d Cir. March 17, 2016).  In so doing, the court joins other federal appellate courts that have applied the Fair Labor Standards Act’s (FLSA), “economic realities” test to...
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More Woes for Chipotle: NLRB Judge Rules Employee Tweets Are Protected Activity

Kollman & Saucier
Kollman & Saucier
03/17/2016
Continuing a trend that started several years ago, an NLRB Administrative Law Judge found that an employer violated the National Labor Relations Act by disciplining an employee for social media posts.  This time the guilty party was a Chipotle restaurant.  In Chipotle Services LLC, a disgruntled employee took to Twitter to vent his frustrations over working conditions.  Two of his tweets concerned “snow days” and crew members’ hourly...
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State Court Loss Bars Federal Court Claims

Kollman & Saucier
Kollman & Saucier
03/16/2016
Most lawyers are familiar with the concepts of res judicata and collateral estoppel.  While infrequently litigated (due, in part, to the significant costs of taking many business cases through trial), occasions do arise where litigants sometimes try their hand in a second forum.  This may be done because the litigants feel that another forum may be more advantageous, additional discovery would be available, or for a host of other reasons. ...
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Verizon Can’t Place State Retaliatory Discharge Claim on Hold

Kollman & Saucier
Kollman & Saucier
03/11/2016
The United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia recently ruled that a Verizon employee who alleged his employer denied him leave under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and then fired him can pursue his state law claim for retaliatory discharge. In Vandevander v. Verizon Wireless, LLC, No. 3: 15-cv-11540 (S.D.W.Va., March 7, 2016), the federal district court denied Verizon’s motion to dismiss, finding that...
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Fourth Circuit Applies More Stringent "But For" Standard in ADA Cases

Kollman & Saucier
Kollman & Saucier
03/09/2016
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit has ruled that a plaintiff asserting a disability discrimination claim under the Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA") must show that her disability was the “but for” cause of her termination. Gentry v. East West Partners Club Mgmt. Co., Inc., No. 14-2382 (4th Cir., March 4, 2016). In upholding a “but for” jury instruction, the Fourth Circuit held that this heightened causation...
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Employers Can’t Press Mute on Employee Solicitations at Work, NLRB Says

Kollman & Saucier
Kollman & Saucier
03/07/2016
Hands off the remote. Last Thursday, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) took control, ruling that Dish Network must revise its solicitation policy to allow workers to engage in concerted activity in work areas during non-work times. Dish Network, LLC, Case 27-CA-131084 (March 3, 2016). The NLRB affirmed an administrative law judge’s ruling that Dish Network’s policy seemed likely to suppress workers’ protected activities. The charging...
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EEOC Files Its First Sexual Orientation Discrimination Lawsuits

Kollman & Saucier
Kollman & Saucier
03/03/2016
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has filed two lawsuits claiming that the plaintiffs were discriminated against because of sexual orientation. These are the first cases the EEOC has filed with Title VII claims based on sexual orientation. One of the lawsuits, EEOC v. Pallett Cos, No. 16-595, was filed in the United States District Court for the District of Maryland. The other, EEOC v. Scott Med. Ctr., was filed in federal court in...
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Maryland Considering Family and Medical Leave Insurance Program

Kollman & Saucier
Kollman & Saucier
03/01/2016
The Maryland General Assembly’s House Economic Matters Committee is considering House Bill 740, which would establish a Family and Medical Leave Insurance Program in Maryland. The program would provide up to twelve weeks of paid leave ($50 to $1,000 per week, with the maximum tied to inflation) to an employee taking unpaid or partially paid leave for the following reasons: (1) to care for a newborn child or a child newly placed for adoption or...
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“Hispanic” is a Race under Title VII says the Second Circuit

Darrell VanDeusen
Darrell VanDeusen
02/25/2016
The issue of what constitutes “race” under anti-discrimination laws is more complicated that one might think. In a recent decision, the Second Circuit held that “Hispanic” ethnicity constitutes a “race” under Title VII and Section 1981. Vill. of Freeport v. Barrella, 2016 U.S. App. LEXIS 2629 (2d Cir. February 16, 2016). The facts of the case are not all that important, but worth a review nevertheless. Christopher Barrella (who is white)...
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