Saturday, February 17, 2018
- US DOJ: Memorandum orders the Department of Justice and United States Attorneys to no longer in civil enforcement actions use noncompliance with agency guidance documents as a basis for proving noncompliance with applicable law (they may only rely on statutory provisions and regulations)
- Maine Superior Court: Summary judgment granted for employer on Maine Human Rights Act disability employment discrimination claim because plaintiff was not a “qualified individual with a disability” where she could not perform the essential functions of her usual position; employer was not required to extend light-duty assignment that was not itself a vacant, independent position
- Maine Superior Court: Motion to dismiss punitive damages claim arising out of motor vehicle collision denied where plaintiff alleged that malice exists because defendant operated her motor vehicle under the influence of drugs while knowing she was driving unsafely
- US District Court ME: Motion for summary judgment based on statute of limitations granted on product liability claim where symptoms from injuries first started to appear more than six years prior to lawsuit, “continuing tort doctrine” did not save claim because plaintiff did not allege that defendant took repeated wrongful actions that in aggregate or unidentifiable part ultimately caused plaintiff’s harm, and “discovery rule” did not apply where foreign object was intentionally implanted
- Maine Supreme Judicial Court: Effective February 14, 2018, Maine Rule of Civil Procedure 30(b) amended to allow parties to make a recording of depositions for their own trial preparations
- Maine Legislature: LD 1842 would require legislators, legislative staff, and lobbyists to attend and complete a course of in-person education and training regarding harassment, including sexual harassment, at the beginning of each regular session of the Legislature
- EEOC: Four-year (2018-2022) Strategic Plan includes immediate performance measure that 80-82% of EEOC and 15-17% of Fair Employment Practice Agency (e.g., the Maine Human Rights Commission) resolutions contain “targeted, equitable relief,” meaning non-monetary and non-generic relief (other than the posting of notices in the workplace about the case and its resolution), which explicitly addresses the discriminatory employment practices at issue in the case, and which provides remedies to the aggrieved individuals or prevents similar violations in the future; including customized training for supervisors and employees, development of policies and practices to deter future discrimination, and external monitoring of employer actions, as appropriate
- MHRC: February 12th Commission meeting minutes include that the Commission testified “neither for nor against” a proposal to broaden substance abuse testing in employment to include “impairment” testing but pointed out how it likely would impact employees with disabilities; and testified “neither for nor against” a bill to “ban the box”, or prohibit employers from asking applicants about criminal conviction/arrest information, which was pared down to apply only to public employers and initial applications
- MHRC: March 19th Commission Meeting Agenda posted
