The epidemic of sexual harassment and assault has received a lot of attention recently because of high profile cases like movie producer Harvey Weinstein, actor Kevin Spacey, journalist Charlie Rose, and many others. The news has spawned a viral social media hashtag “#metoo” which women have used to inform others…
A tech entrepreneur recently took a novel approach to ensure that members of her company’s board of directors cannot engage in sexual harassment and keep their positions. The entrepreneur, Kristina Bergman, is the CEO of Integris Software. Bergman added a clause to stockholders’ voting agreements that requires them to vote…
This month, Connecticut enacted new protections for pregnant workers that address some of the more common abusive employment practices that women face when they are pregnant. The new protections include the following: Employers must provide reasonable accommodations to pregnant workers to enable them to work unless the accommodation would be…
Earlier this month, in a landmark decision for proponents of marijuana legalization, the Massachusetts Supreme Court held that an employer who fired an employee because she used medical marijuana to treat her Crohn’s disease may have violated the state’s disability discrimination law. The employee in the case, Cristina Barbuto, was…
Earlier this week a new Maine law went into effect that will allow employers to employ more 14- and 15-year old kids. According to a press release from the Maine Department of Labor, the new law “amends laws relating to minors 14 and 15 years of age to allow them…
We previously reported on a bill that the Maine legislature was considering which would help address the gender pay gap. That bill passed the legislature but Governor LePage has vetoed it. As our previous post explained, this new law would help prevent victims of pay discrimination from continuing to suffer…
After Maine recently passed an increase to the minimum wage, many Maine restaurant workers who depend on tips voiced serious concerns. They believed that the increased minimum wage would actually cause them to make less money. They feared that restaurant owners would raise prices and cut workers’ shifts. Some said…
The National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE) has released a report showing the results of a survey that it conducted of transgender Mainers. The survey showed what many already, intuitively, knew: transgender Mainers face frequent and extreme amounts of discrimination. According to the NCTE report: 8% of respondents who have…
The federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) turned 50 years old this month. Congress enacted the ADEA, 50 years ago, to address the following stated problems: (1) in the face of rising productivity and affluence, older workers find themselves disadvantaged in their efforts to retain employment, and especially to…
In response to complaints of systemic problems with harassment and discrimination, Uber has fired 20 employees, including some senior executives. The company has also disciplined others and is still investigating additional complaints. This is a major shakeup at Uber, a ride sharing service based in California, that comes shortly after…