Podcast: Employment Policies in the Trump Administration
In this Verrill Voices podcast, labor and employment attorneys Tawny Alvarez and Richard Moon discuss recent administrative and legislative developments, how they affect employers generally. More specifically, they discuss the current position in which the Department of Justice and the EEOC are taking separate and distinct positions on the...
FLSA Exempt Salary Adjustment Update
On Thursday, Judge Amos Mazzant of the Eastern District of Texas issued an order concluding that the Department of Labor's amendments to the FLSA—increasing the minimum salary threshold from $23,660 annually to $47,476.00 in order to qualify as exempt—were invalid. Specifically, the Memorandum Opinion and Order found the plaintiffs...
Spouse’s “Unjustified Jealousy” is Sufficient to Maintain Sex Discrimination Claim
Has your attorney ever told you justice is not swift? Well just ask Yogi Dilek Edwards, she would likely have some general thoughts on the speed of justice. Three and a half years ago we posted that a Manhattan yoga instructor had filed a claim of gender discrimination after...
Health Plan Nightmares Straight from the Horse’s Mouth
In a cautionary tale that highlights the importance of the claims and appeals process, a federal judge is requiring the AT&T, Inc. health plan to pay more than $117,000 for treatment of one of its employee's daughters at Equine Journeys, a Utah residential treatment center that combines psychotherapy with...
Podcast: Affinity Groups in the Workplace
While affinity groups can be a great marketing tool for employers to attract and retain workers, as well as to foster new ideas, they can also create a great deal of legal liability. For some background, affinity groups are generally formalized groups that share similarities of some sort, whether...
Podcast: The New Form I-9: A Step-by-Step Guide to Avoiding Common and Costly Mistakes
While you may be familiar with Form I-9s (since everyone that has hired an employee since 1986 should have them on file), you may not know that beginning on September 18, 2017, employers will be required to use a new I-9 Form. The changes were announced last month through...
Maine Department of Labor Directly Clarifies Its Position on Drug Testing & Marijuana
Based off of information received in a Portland Press Herald article, we previously noted that the Maine Department of Labor Director of Policy, Operations and Communications, Julie Rabinowitz, reported to the legislature's Marijuana Legalization Implementation Committee that businesses with Maine-state drug testing policies should not test job applicants and...
The Bay State Rules Qualified Medicinal Marijuana User Has Civil Remedy Against Her Employer
Last week, the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts issued an opinion in Cristina Barbutos v. Advantage Sales and Marketing, LLC, SJC-12226 (Ma. July 17, 2017), finding that an employee qualified to use marijuana under the Commonwealth's medicinal marijuana statute had a cause of action against her former employer through...
Trump Administration Issues New Form I-9
On July 17, 2017, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) published a revised Form I-9 that employers will be required to use beginning September 18, 2017. The new form may be used immediately. Employers may continue to use the previous Form I-9 (Revision Date of 11/14/2016) through September...
Medical Marijuana: Is it reasonable and necessary?
Verrill Dana Labor & Employment attorney Beth Smith discusses the anticipated decision in Bourgoin v. Twin Rivers Paper Company that should provide some clarity about whether or not workers' compensation insurers will be compelled to compensate for medicinal marijuana expenses incurred by injured workers. Stream the podcast online here...
Termination of Wife Swapping Deputies is Constitutional
As the Fifth Circuit noted, the facts are undisputed. The Chief Deputy Sheriff learned that two sheriff's deputies had "taken up residence in the other's house, exchanging spouses without having divorced their current wives." As a result he placed the two deputies on leave for violating the Sheriff's Code...
Podcast: Workers Compensation in a Modern Marine Economy
The so-called "blue economy" is evolving at a rapid pace. As a result, innovative marine-based businesses are finding themselves exposed to risks when technological development outpaces legal development. This podcast discusses the risk of worker's compensation exposure that modern marine businesses face and how best to manage that exposure...
Straight to the Heart of Dixie: Alabama Workers' Compensation Act Ruled Unconstitutional
On Monday, May 8, a Jefferson County (Birmingham) Circuit Court Judge found two specific provisions of the Alabama Workers' Compensation Act unconstitutional, and because one or more provisions of the law were unconstitutional, the entire law was struck down. The two provisions at issue were a maximum cap of...
Breaking News on Medical Marijuana in Maine Workers' Compensation
We have just learned that the State of Maine Supreme Judicial Court, sitting as the Law Court, has accepted Bourgoin v. Twin Rivers Paper Co., L.L.C., and Decision No. 16-26 , one of a pair of Administrative Law Judge decisions addressing medical marijuana that the Appellate Division affirmed last...
You Say Paternity, I Say Pawternity: Creative Leave Policies that Work for Your Culture
We talk a lot about the parameters of leave programs. New state laws that are popping up regularly that expand on employee leave rights. While we focus on the legal aspects of all leave laws, we do recognize the importance of having leave policies that work for the culture...
Podcast: ADA Title III Public Accommodations: New Accessibility Considerations for Businesses
Most business owners are aware that if their business is public-facing they need to provide access for the physically disabled under the Americans with Disabilities Act. By definition, Title III under the ADA provides that individuals cannot be discriminated against on the basis of disability, "in the full and...
Connecticut Pay Equity Bill Moves Forward
Earlier this week, bill HB5591 , which has been touted as legislation that will help to close the gender pay gap between Connecticut employees, cleared the House of Representatives with a vote of 139-9. The bill, unlike the Massachusetts law that goes into effect next year, does not include...
Seventh Circuit Holds Sexual Orientation Bias Exists Under Title VII
Earlier this week, the Seventh Circuit in an en banc (all members of the court participating as opposed to only three) decision held that Title VII's ban on sex discrimination encompasses discrimination based on sexual orientation. The 8-3 ruling represents the first federal court of appeals ruling to find...
Always Connected
We use the term "always connected" to describe the fact that the technology at our fingertips can connect us quickly to others across the room, across the state, or across the world. But when employers say we expect you to always be connected, do you expect that to mean...
Your Watch Does What? Wearable Technology in the Workplace… For Better or Worse
From wristwatches that can take pictures to retinal scanners to fitness trackers, wearable devices are becoming increasingly popular in everyday life, including at work. A study found that employees using wearable technology reported an 8.5% increase in productivity and a 3.5% increase in job satisfaction. Although wearable devices can...
Twist and Shout, or A Small Victory in the Fight Against Creeping Non-Occupational Injury Coverage In Maine Workers’ Compensation
In a decision issued on February 17, 2017 ( Fuller v. Hannaford Brothers Company, App. Div. 7-17 ), the Maine Workers' Compensation Board Appellate Division revisited the two-pronged "arising out of" and "in the course of" standard necessary for an injury to be work-related. As many readers know, an...
Secret Agent Man with Narcolepsy Lacks Disability Claim
Jacob Abilt (not his real name) was a covert employee for the CIA until his employment was terminated in October 2011. After his termination Abilt argued that despite having informed the CIA he had been diagnosed with narcolepsy, he was terminated as a result. The facts are limited, as...
The New (Improved?) I-9 Form
On January 22, 2017, employers must use an updated version of the Form I-9, making the previous I-9 form (dated March 8, 2013) obsolete. The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services ("USCIS") issued the new version on November 14, 2016. The core requirements of the Form I-9 remain unchanged...
DOL Overtime Rule Update
As most readers are aware, the Department of Labor has appealed the November 22, 2016 Order of Judge Amos Mazzant of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas which preliminarily enjoined the December 1, 2016 implementation of increases to the salary threshold under the FLSA...
Till Death Do Compensatory Damages Part . . . Or Not: Eight Circuit Finds Compensatory Damages Claim Under the ADA Lives Past Claimant’s Death
On Thursday, January 19, 2017, the Eighth Circuit issued an opinion in Guenther v. Griffin Constr. Co. , 16-1760 (8 th Cir. Jan. 19, 2017), and held that a claim for compensatory damages brought under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) survives the death of the aggrieved party. The...
Are Your Employee Technology Policies from the Dark Ages?
With technology advancing at the current rate, the dark ages referenced isn't ten or fifteen years ago, but instead, two or three. If your capacity for reviewing policies and practices at the beginning of the year is limited, working with your information technology department and crafting up-to-date and relevant...
EEOC's Five Core Principles for Preventing and Addressing Harassment
Last week the EEOC released proposed Enforcement Guidance on Unlawful Harassment with a Press Release noting that the proposed Guidance is available for input until February 9, 2017. Information on how to provide feedback on the Guidance is available here . Whether one chooses to provide feedback or not...
Election Year Creates Complexity for Employers: Verrill Dana Hosts Full-Day Conference, 2017 Annual Employment Law Update
The 2016 elections – local and national – have given rise to a number of complicated developments in labor and employment law. To help employers understand these changes and how to address them, Verrill Dana will host a full-day Annual Employment Law Update on Thursday, January 26, 2017 at...
Federal Judge Enjoins Upcoming DOL Overtime Salary Basis Increase
On November 22, 2016, a federal judge in the Eastern District of Texas granted a motion for preliminary injunction filed by the State of Nevada and twenty other states ( State of Nevada, et al. v. United States Department of Labor et al., 4:16-cv-00731 (E.D. Tx. Nov. 22, 2016...
Marijuana is Legal in Massachusetts . . . Now What
On Tuesday, Massachusetts residents legalized marijuana for recreational purposes. How does this effect your relationship with your employees and what steps should you be taking in the near future? First, the statute includes an employment provision which provides that: "This chapter shall not require an employer to permit or...
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