The United States Supreme Court has ruled that the requirement to file a charge of discrimination before bringing a discrimination lawsuit is a procedural requirement that may be waived, as opposed to a jurisdictional one that would deprive a court of the ability to even hear the case.
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Governor Hogan Vetos the Ban the Box Bill
Governor Hogan announced on May 24, 2019 that he was vetoing HB994, the “Ban the Box” bill, as our partner Liz Torphy-Donzella predicted he would do in our webinar on Maryland’s recently enacted employment laws. This means that, absent a veto override, this bill will not become law. The bill, however, passed with veto-proof majorities in both the House and Senate, so we will likely see a veto override in the next General Assembly session.
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Debt or No Debt? Your Employees’ Future in the Balance
Debt can alter one’s future trajectory for good or for ill. The latter is reflected in a recent article in the Wall Street Journal. Although they are the most educated generation ever in the U.S., Millennials at the tail end of their generation incurred unprecedented debt for college – often six figure debt – then graduated into the Great Recession. Their employment opportunities were truncated. As a result, their income potential (and debt repayment capability) has been damaged, seemingly beyond repair. They have collectively put off home buying and starting families, which has ripple effects for the future, from reduced home buying opportunity to delayed or foregone child rearing.
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U.S. Supreme Court Holds Arbitration of Classwide Claims Not Required Where Agreement is Ambiguous
On April 23, 2019, a divided U.S. Supreme Court answered a question that had been left open by the Court in 2010: namely, whether an agreement that is ambiguous on the availability of class-wide arbitration could form the basis for an order compelling the arbitration of such claims. In Lamps Plus, Inc. et al. v. Varela, the Court ruled that such an agreement does not support an order compelling arbitration of class action claims.
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The Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation Will Be No More…
Here’s a fun new law for all you Maryland employers. As of July 1, 2019, the Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation will officially be known only as the “Department of Labor.” So now our handy way of distinguishing between the state (DLLR) and the federal (DOL) agencies will disappear.
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Another State Finds No Federal Preemption of Its Medical Marijuana Law
Employer obligations to consider the use of medical marijuana as a reasonable accommodation just got murkier with a new case out of Delaware, Chance v. Kraft Heinz Foods Co., decided in December 2018.
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Oh, the Weather Outside is Frightful (I think I Need a Sick Day)!!
Whether you are looking out your window at the wonder of snow or trying to prognosticate when it will hit, one thing is for sure. If you are in a state with mandatory sick leave, employees may be invoking their right to no-questions-asked leave when you otherwise prohibit any excuses. Such “no excuse” policies are common during snow events at businesses that must provide service – hospitals, property management companies, no-stop assembly lines. Think patients to be cared for, sidewalks to be cleared, machines that will seize without humans.
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OSHA-Compliant Injury Reporting Policies
Several months ago, OSHA proposed to rescind part of its revised workplace injury and illness reporting rule, which was originally issued in May 2016. The rule contained controversial electronic reporting requirements, which OSHA proposes to rescind for the most part (as we discussed in our July 2018 E-Update). As I mentioned in a recent blog post, OSHA Pre-empts CBA Drug-Testing Provisions?, this action caused me to revisit some older guidance on compliance with the surviving aspects of the rule – including the prohibition on discouraging employees from reporting workplace injuries or illnesses.
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Is Equal Pay becoming the new #MeToo?
In the era of the #MeToo movement, it may be easy to overlook that equal pay is also having a moment. A huge moment. The federal Equal Pay Act (“EPA”) of 1963 requires “equal pay” for “equal work.” If the plaintiff shows a difference in pay for such work, the employer must prove the wage difference is due to a legitimate reason, which includes:
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DOL Provides Clarification on FLSA Tip Pooling Amendments
On April 9, 2018, the Department of Labor announced the issuance of a Field Assistance Bulletin clarifying the recent amendments to the tip pooling provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act, which were incorporated in the omnibus budget bill that was passed by Congress on March 21, 2018. Additionally (but without fanfare), the DOL revised its Fact Sheet #15: “Tipped Employees Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).” The Bulletin clarifies that employers who pay the full minimum wage to tipped employees may require their participation in tip pools that include workers who are not “customarily and regularly” tipped – an issue that had been subject to significant controversy.
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