Wednesday, July 3, 2019
- Maine Legislature: Effective September 19, 2019, Public Law 464 (signed by the Governor on June 23rd) amends the Maine Human Rights Act to, in part, 1) explicitly extend protection to associational discrimination and perceived protected-class status, 2) broaden the definition of “discriminate” to expressly include harassment and extend to all protected classes several types of discrimination that had previously been limited to physical or mental disability, 3) include a definition for “gender identity,” 4) expressly make “leaves of absence” an example of a “reasonable accommodation” for a physical or mental disability, 5) repeal a provision that had been interpreted by the Law Court as precluding a leave of absence as a reasonable accommodation under certain circumstances, and 6) prohibit the designation of single-occupancy toilet facilities in places of public accommodation as being for use only by members of one sex
- Maine Legislature: Effective September 19, 2019, Public Law 465 (signed by the Governor June 23rd) amends the Maine Human Rights Act to, in part, 1) make several categories of records collected during a Commission investigation confidential, including medical, counseling, psychiatric and other confidential health records; 2) provide the Commission’s executive director authority to dismiss a complaint for various reasons (including failure to substantiate the complaint), which has the effect of a no-reasonable-grounds finding; 3) make conciliation agreements that include the Commission as a signatory public records; and 4) preclude the recovery of attorney’s fees and costs by or against the Commission in a civil action
- Maine Legislature: Effective September 19, 2019, Public Law 513 (signed by the Governor June 28th) prohibits certain employee non-compete agreements, including banning them altogether for employees earning wages at or below 400% of the federal poverty; and makes “restrictive employment agreements” illegal, which are agreements between two or more employers that prohibit or restrict one employer from soliciting or hiring another employer’s employees or former employees
