Friday, May 17, 2019
- US Supreme Court: Overruling Nevada v. Hall, the Constitution does not permit a State to be sued by a private party without its consent in the courts of a different State
- Tenth Circuit: “A public entity violates Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act and section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act each day that it fails to remedy a non-compliant service, program, or activity. As a result, the applicable statute of limitations does not operate in its usual capacity as a firm bar to an untimely lawsuit. Instead, it constrains a plaintiff’s right to relief to injuries sustained during the limitations period counting backwards from the day he or she files the lawsuit and injuries sustained while the lawsuit is pending.”
- Maine Supreme Judicial Court: Effective June 1, 2019, Rule 8.4 of the Maine Rules of Professional Conduct is amended to make it professional misconduct for a lawyer to “engage in conduct or communication related to the practice of law that the lawyer knows or reasonably should know is harassment or discrimination on the basis of race, sex, religion, national origin, ethnicity, disability, age, sexual orientation, or gender identity”
- US District Court ME: The court denied motion to dismiss, for failure to exhaust administrative remedies under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, claim under § 504 of Rehabilitation Act of 1973 arising out of sexual assault of student by another student, where facts alleged met the test for avoiding IDEA exhaustion, namely, that claim could have been brought if it occurred in another public facility than a school and could have been brought by an adult
- Federal Rules of Evidence: Effective December 1, 2019, Federal Rule of Evidence 807 (the hearsay residual exception) will be reworded
- Federal Rules of Civil Procedure: No changes to existing Rules through December 1, 2020
- EEOC: Janet Dhillon is sworn in as the Chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
- US Courts: Efforts are underway to change jury selection processes to ensure that the age, race, and socio-economic status of juror pools reflect the community
- MHRC: May 13th Commission Meeting minutes include that Alex Brindley will be starting as the Commission’s newest investigator in mid-May
- Maine DOL: Press release notes that the Secretary of Homeland Security has decided to increase the H-2B cap for FY 2019 by up to 30,000 additional visas
