Legal Updates
John Gause monitors what’s happening in employment discrimination, civil rights, and tort law. He shares some of what he finds on this page.
Monday, December 30, 2013
Friday, December 27, 2013
Tuesday, December 24, 2013
- Law Court: Recently posted oral argument recordings include insurance coverage under “other owned vehicle” exclusion, two premises liability cases, and a defective generator case
- Maine Legislature: Newly printed bills include LD 1622 (would protect members of municipal fire departments who are absent from work due to emergency response), LD 1641 (would give an injured employee the right to have a union representative or other representative of the employee’s own selection present at an examination by an employer-selected health care provider), LD 1669 (would make changes to the Maine substance abuse testing law including eliminating requirements that employers provide an employee assistance program and pay for half of rehabilitation beyond services provided through health care benefits)
Monday, December 23, 2013
- Seventh Circuit: First circuit court opinion to reject explicitly the implied affirmative defense of failure of the EEOC to conciliate
- Eleventh Circuit: First published circuit court opinion classifying hearing loss that can be remedied with a hearing aid as a serious medical need under the Fourteenth Amendment
- Press Herald: Firefighter in Limington settles lawsuit for $104,000
Friday, December 20, 2013
- US District Court ME: Magistrate Judge recommends summary judgment in prisoner Eighth and Fourteenth Amendment claims, finding no deliberate indifference to a substantial risk of serious harm with short-term exposure to human waste
- US District Court ME: Magistrate Judge recommends summary judgment in prisoner Eighth and Fourteenth Amendment claims, finding order to clean human blood created a substantial risk of serious harm but officer who gave the order lacked deliberate indifference to risk
- Bangor Daily: Jury awards $10,000 damages in Brunswick ‘Inn’ naming rights suit
- US Dept of Labor: Biweekly newsletter includes description of new rules issued by the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs to improve employment opportunities for people with disabilities and veterans
Thursday, December 19, 2013
- First Circuit: Affirming over $100,000 in fees on a $7650 damages award in a state discrimination claim, the court held that the argument supporting the fees had been waived but the lower court nevertheless had the authority under FedRCivP 60(a) to correct the judgment on its own
- Eighth Circuit: Reversing a denial of summary judgment of a §1983 retaliation claim based on qualified immunity, the court held that the right to be free from discriminatory practices is a clearly established right under the first amendment but not under the equal protection clause
Wednesday, December 18, 2013
Tuesday, December 17, 2013
- US Supreme Court: Opinion under ERISA enforcing three-year contractual limitations period for filing suit
- First Circuit: Opinion finding arbitration clause enforceable in legal malpractice claim
- Seventh Circuit: Opinion reversing dismissal and finding episode of blood pressure spike and vision are covered disabilities under ADA
- Press Herald: Commission supports Maine worker’s claim of discrimination
- EEOC: Annual Performance and Accountability Report shows it received 93,727 private sector charges
Monday, December 16, 2013
Friday, December 13, 2013
- First Circuit: Circuit Judge Kayatta issues opinion vacating summary judgment in FLSA retaliation case, finding sufficient causal connection between CEO’s retaliatory animus and plaintiff’s firing despite lack of direct evidence showing he had a role in decision
- Seventh Circuit: Opinion discusses (without deciding) “close and difficult question” of whether the ADEA federal sector provision requires less than “but for” causation despite Supreme Court
- Fifth Circuit: Unpublished opinion reverses summary judgment on ERISA claim that defendant fired plaintiff to avoid paying his medical benefits, holding that plaintiff did not need to show he was “qualified” to perform his job at the time of his termination
- EEOC: New report lists unconscious gender biases as one of six obstacles facing women in federal workforce
- Equality Maine: New Executive Director hired
- US Dept of Labor: Weekly newsletter
