This month marks the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). President George H.W. Bush signed the ADA into law on July 26, 1990. While the ADA did not fully live up to what lawmakers intended, necessitating the Americans with Disabilities Amendments Act (ADA-AA), it has always contained…
Earlier this week, Portland’s mayor signed into law minimum wage increase for workers in Portland. The minimum wage increase will go into effect in January. The language of the law that the mayor signed could lead to tipped workers also receiving a wage increase even though some of the city’s…
This week the President and the Secretary of Labor announced that the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) would be updating overtime regulations so that approximately 5 million more workers would be eligible for overtime pay, including a reported 20,000 workers in Maine. The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), a law…
This week the New Jersey Supreme Court held that a criminal prosecution against a woman who took documents from her employer to support hers and her son’s employment discrimination case against their employer could proceed. This case should serve as a cautionary tale to all employees who are considering taking…
Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) have co-sponsored a bill called the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. The bill would require employers to provide reasonable accommodations to pregnant employees so that they could continue to work during their pregnancies. Employers have to provide similar accommodations to employees with disabilities…
Earlier this month, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued guidance for employers who employ transgender employees that addresses the issue of restroom access. According to the guidance, employers should permit a transgender employee to use the restroom that corresponds to his or her gender identity. For example, an…
Last month, the U.S. Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, in Missouri, held that a reasonable jury could determine that Tyson Fresh Meats violated the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) when it fired Delbert Hudson. The Eighth Circuit reversed the trial court’s decision to dismiss the case. In December…
Earlier this month, the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, in Virginia, held that a race discrimination class action against Nucor Corporation could proceed. This decision marked the second time that this appellate court has reversed the trial judge’s decision not to let the class action proceed. The case centers…
Earlier this month, bills were reintroduced in the U.S. House and the Senate that would amend the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) so that it would protect employees who take time off from work due to the death of a child. The bill is called the Parental Bereavement Leave…
At the last meeting of the Maine Human Rights Commission (MHRC), the Commissioners found reasonable grounds to believe that Hartford Installations, a company based in Damariscotta and South Portland, discriminated against a former employee because of his race and retaliated against him when he complained of the discrimination. The former…