Sunday, March 12, 2017
- US Supreme Court: The Court summarily vacated a Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals decision in favor of transgender student who sought to use school bathrooms consistent with his gender identity, and remanded the case for further consideration in light of the United States Department of Education withdrawal of its guidance documents (upon which the 4th Circuit decision was based) that the prohibitions on discrimination “on the basis of sex” in Title IX requires access to sex-segregated facilities based on gender identity
- Maine Legislature: LD 1004 would amend 26 MRS § 626-A to increase the fines for a violation of 26 M.R.S. §§ 621-A to 623, 626, 628, 629 or 629-B (e.g., equal pay, unfair agreements, timely pay, pay record keeping, etc.) to $500 for the first violation and $2,500 for each subsequent violation, and provide a private right of action for a person aggrieved, including the ability to recover attorney’s fees
- 11th Circuit: The court held that discrimination because of sexual orientation is not prohibited by Title VII, but allowed claim to go forward to the extent it alleged discrimination because of gender non-conformity
- 5th Circuit: The court held that the United States Supreme Court decision, National R.R. Passenger Corp. v. Morgan, overruled the 5th Circuit’s prior cases to the extent they held that the continuing violation doctrine (applicable to hostile environment claims) does not apply when an employee was or should have been aware earlier of a duty to assert her rights
- Law Court: The court held that a claim for disparate impact age discrimination pursuant to the Maine Human Rights Act is evaluated according to the “business necessity” framework, not the “reasonable factor other than age” standard in the Age Discrimination in Employment Act
- US District Court ME: The court denied motion for summary judgment on Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act claim brought by wife of man who died after being discharged from hospital, finding genuine issues of material fact as to whether the screening offered was “reasonably calculated to identify critical medical conditions” given the decedent’s history and presenting symptoms; whether an “emergency medical condition” existed and was known to the hospital; and whether he was stabilized at the time he was discharged
- US District Court ME: Magistrate Judge ordered production of notes of interview with plaintiff taken by an investigator and attorneys from an outside firm hired by defendant, finding that Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(b)(3)(C), allowing a party to obtain a previous statement by that party, overrode defendant’s attorney-client privilege argument, and that the notes were a “substantially verbatim” record of the plaintiff’s statement as required by the Rule
- MHRC: Free three-hour seminars giving an overview of Fair Housing laws offered in April for landlords and property managers as a part of Fair Housing Month
- Maine Department of Labor: Maine Department of Labor Announces Rulemaking regarding Employment Protections for Victims of Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault, or Stalking
- Press Herald: Age discrimination suit against Shaw’s allowed to advance
- Press Herald: Lawsuit against Maine State Police over deadly rampage gets reprieve
