Today, the First Circuit Court of Appeals, the federal appeals court that covers Maine and other New England states, held that a class action against the Caritas Christi hospital network could go forward. The plaintiffs in the case allege that Caritas failed to pay them, and employees like them, for…
Yesterday, the Maine Senate joined the House to approve a controversial measure that overhauls the state’s workers’ compensation system, with major impacts on injured workers. The overhaul comes at a time when insurance rates for Maine businesses are down and MEMIC, the state’s largest workers’ compensation insurer, recently paid a…
Last week, voters in Anchorage, Alaska voted against a law that would have prohibited employment discrimination against employees because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. Notably, both of Alaska’s U.S. Senators supported the law against discrimination. Sen. Lisa Murkowski said of the law, “I think this is overdue and…
On April 5, the United States District Court in Bangor rejected the University of Phoenix’s attempt to force a former employee to bring his case against it before a private arbitrator, instead of in court. The University of Phoenix based its argument on a provision in the employee handbook that…
Today, the U.S. District Court of Maine ruled on three motions to dismiss which Alutiiq, LLC and two related companies (collectively Alutiiq) filed in response to retaliation claims that two whistleblowers filed against it. The whistleblowers, Craig Manfield and Janice Hendricks, who are represented by the Maine Employee Rights Group,…
Under a Maine statute, employers may pay certain disabled employees less than minimum wage if they receive authorization from the Maine Department of Labor (MDOL). Maine recently amended this statute. Among other things, the amended statute now only requires employers to seek reauthorization to pay a disabled employee subminimum wage…
A class of former interns that worked for the Charlie Rose Show, a TV show that appears on PBS, have filed a class action lawsuit against Charlie Rose and the company that produces his show. The interns allege that their internships involved work that employees, not interns, are supposed to…
In recent weeks, state legislatures in Wisconsin and Missouri have sought to make it more difficult for victims of employment discrimination to hold the perpetrators of the discrimination accountable. In Wisconsin, the State Assembly decided to eliminate the right of victims of employment discrimination to seek compensation under state law…
Today, the Connecticut Department of Labor (CDOL) announced that in January and February, 2012, it issued “Stop Work orders” to 19 companies working on construction projects in Connecticut. One of these companies was Deanes, Inc., a Maine based company that was working on a rest stop on I-95 in Milford,…
Today, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, reversing the decision of the trial court, held that a class of black stockbrokers who work, or used to work, for Merrill Lynch could continue to pursue their race discrimination case against Merrill Lynch as a class action. The black stockbrokers allege that…