Thursday, December 22, 2022
- MHRC: Effective 12/10/22, the Maine Human Rights Commission amended its Employment Regulations to, in part, define “discriminate” to include “harassment,” which in turn is newly defined to include, in part, conduct constituting an assault as defined by Title 17-A, section 207; extend the newly added “traits associated with race” protections in the Maine Human Rights Act to “traits associated with protected class status,” including “protected-class related body modifications”; add a definition of “reasonable accommodation” applicable to other protected class statuses than disability; expand on the definition of “sexual orientation” to include, a person’s “pattern of sexual, emotional, or romantic attraction to others”; add to the list of unlawful pre-employment inquiries questions about household composition, gender-affirming physical and/or behavioral health care, compensation history, history of arrests, and hair style/appearance when the hair style/appearance is associated with the applicant’s protected class status; clarify that the prohibition on employers asking members of a protected class questions that are not asked of others includes asking older applicants how long they expect to remain in the workforce if the employer does not ask the same question of younger applicants; add that it is “unlawful to discriminate against a person because that person has terminated their pregnancy”; clarify that, with respect to religious accommodations and conflicting work schedules, “[i]In some instances, the employer may have the obligation to attempt to secure a substitute for the employee”; list examples of reasonable accommodations applicable to gender identity or gender expression of allowing employees to go by the name of their choosing rather than their legal names while in the workplace, providing gender-neutral/nongendered restrooms, and modifying any uniform or dress code requirements to allow employees to dress in accordance with their gender identity, and clarify that undue hardship cannot be established by asserting an accommodation would make others uncomfortable; include a new section on familial status discrimination; include a new section on individuals who have been issued orders of protection from abuse; clarify that discrimination based on color “includes discrimination based on shades of color, such as discrimination by individuals of the same race who have different pigmentation”; add to the list of invalid bona fide occupational qualification defenses that customers will be uncomfortable with a transgender salesperson, or that a person for whom English is not their primary language will be too difficult for others to understand; and remove the preservation of personnel records provision
- MHRC: Effective 12/10/22, the Maine Human Rights Commission amended its Procedural Rule to, in part, allow for electronic filing of complaints; specify the grounds and procedure for requesting reconsideration of the Executive Director’s administrative dismissal decisions; expand the Commissioner conflict of interest provisions; extend from 10 to 21 days the time within which a respondent will be notified of a complaint; make it a condition of the Commission’s third-party neutral mediation program that the terms of settlement be provided to the Executive Director who may share them with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission or the Department of Housing and Urban Development in dual-filed cases; make providing Commission submissions to the opposing party mandatory; specify that a late submission may be considered if the investigator determines that it could change the investigator’s recommended finding(s) or it appears to Commission Counsel that the late-submitted information changes the legal sufficiency of the report; required five days advance notice of any visual/illustrative aids used during a Commission meeting; make tie votes by the Commission result in the finding recommended by the Investigator’s Report (so a majority vote may not be required for a reasonable grounds decision)
- MHRC: Effective 12/10/22, the Maine Human Rights Commission amended its Public Accommodation Regulations
- MHRC: Effective 12/10/22, the Maine Human Rights Commission amended its Housing Regulations
- Law Court: Employer is required under Maine’s wage payment laws to pay employee for her lost electronic paycheck that was stolen by cybercriminals after she inadvertently entered her login credentials in response to a phishing scam
- US District Court ME: Rejecting Magistrate Judge’s denial of motion to amend complaint to include Family and Medical Leave Act claim, the court found that it was a dispositive motion because its denial would end the FMLA claim and applied the higher, de novo, standard of review; and granted the motion despite being filed five months after deadline to amend pleadings in Scheduling Order where plaintiff showed “good cause” for the amendment based on plaintiff’s counsel learning new information during plaintiff’s deposition
- US District Court ME: In denying summary judgment on, in part, Equal Pay Act (“EPA”) claim, the court rejected defendant’s argument that plaintiff’s pay discrimination claim was untimely because the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act creates a new cause of action every time plaintiff receives a paycheck resulting from an earlier discriminatory compensation practice, including those outside the limitations period (note: the Ledbetter Act does not explicitly apply to the EPA, but the court cited a Seventh Circuit decision holding that its equivalent “paycheck accrual rule” applies to the EPA because the Act reversed the Supreme Court decision eschewing that rule); on Title VII pregnancy discrimination claim, the court held, in part, that the “continuing violations doctrine” rendered plaintiff’s claims relating to her 2016 maternity leave timely despite her not having filed an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission complaint on them within 300 days, where she did so with respect to her 2019 leave following pregnancy and birth during which she alleged to have suffered the same type of discrimination; and on Maine Human Rights Act claims, the court held, in part, that equitable tolling rendered plaintiff’s claims timely even though the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act does not apply to the Maine Human Rights Act
- US District Court ME: In denying motion to dismiss Rehabilitation Act claim by resident against provider of residential services, the court held, in part, that it is possible that the deliberate indifference standard will suffice to show intentional discrimination necessary to recover compensatory damages
- US District Court ME: Motion to dismiss former college football coaches complaint alleging discrimination, retaliation, and negligence denied; motion granted on defamation claim
- MHRC: Minutes of the Maine Human Rights Commission’s November 7th meeting include the adoption of the above-referenced amendments to its regulations; in September 2022, 17 cases were settled or withdrawn with benefits, and $501,000 to complainants; in October 2022, 27 cases settled or withdrawn with benefits, and $590,000 to complainants
- MHRC: Minutes of the Commission’s December 12th meeting posted
- EEOC: The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission issued a resource document titled “Protections Against Employment Discrimination for Service Members and Veterans”
- Maine DOL: The Maine Department of Labor posted its 2020 through 2030 ten-year expected employment outlook, as well as expected industry and occupational trends
- US DOL: OSHA published various suggestions on its “Holiday Workplace Safety” page
