Maine Employment Lawyer Blog

The Maine Human Rights Commission (MHRC) has found reasonable grounds to believe that Hannaford Bros., a part of the multi-national corporation Delhaize Group, unlawfully discriminated against Ernesto Duran. Mr. Duran, a Latino gentleman originally from Puerto Rico, worked for Hannaford for about eight years until Hannaford fired him on May 20, 2009. The MHRC found that Hannaford fired Mr. Duran because of his race, color, and national origin.

According to the MHRC report, the person who got Mr. Duran fired had said to Mr. Duran "why don't you go back where you came from." Mr. Duran also claims that his managers disciplined him for alleged misconduct that he did not commit. He claims that white employees committed misconduct similar to what he was accused of and they received no discipline. The MHRC asked Hannaford to provide disciplinary records for employees in Mr. Duran's department. Prior to the date Mr. Duran filed his complaint with the MHRC, only non-white employees in his department received discipline.

Hannaford has not contested the MHRC Investigator's finding that it unlawfully discriminated against Mr. Duran. The MHRC has this matter on its consent agenda for its March 7, 2011 meeting. Under its normal procedure, the MHRC will vote and confirm the Investigator's finding. Mr. Duran and Hannaford will then go through a conciliation process in an effort to settle Mr. Duran's case. If they do not reach a settlement, the next step would be a lawsuit in court. Mr. Duran is represented by Chad Hansen from the Maine Employee Rights Group.

Restaurant Opportunities Center United, an organization dedicated to advancing the interests of restaurant workers, recently released a study of working conditions that focused on restaurants located in New York, Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, Washington, DC--and Maine. Their research revealed, among other things, that minority restaurant workers disproportionately work the least desirable jobs in restaurants. Consequently, restaurant workers of color earn about $3.70 per hour less than white restaurant workers.

This large disparity in wages could reveal inherent racial discrimination in the restaurant industry. It is illegal under Maine and federal law for a restaurant to steer minority workers towards certain jobs and white workers towards others. It is also illegal for restaurants to pay a worker less because of his race.

If you work in a restaurant and you believe your employer has discriminated against you because of your race, you may not be alone. You should contact an experienced employment lawyer to learn more about your rights.

On February 17, 2011, Massachusetts' governor signed an executive order which bans discrimination against state employees and employees of state contractors because of their gender identity. This new law would protect some of Massachusetts' transgender employees from discrimination. However, it does not protect all transgender employees--it only protects those working for the state or a state contractor. The law also does not allow any employees to bring a lawsuit against their employer if the employer discriminates against them because of their gender identity.

The Maine Human Rights Act, which protects all employees in Maine, prohibits discrimination on the basis of "sexual orientation," which includes a person's "gender identity." Thus, Maine offers broader protection than Massachusetts for transgender employees. If you work in Maine and your employer discriminates against you because you are a transgender individual, your employer has violated the Maine Human Rights Act. If that happens to you, you should contact an experienced employment lawyer to discuss your legal rights.

On February 4, 2011, Judge Woodcock, of the U.S. District Court in Bangor, ruled that a jury could reasonably find that Correctional Medical Services, Inc. fired a whistleblower named Thomas Halkett because he blew the whistle on Correctional Medical Services' (CMS) allegedly unlawful activity.

CMS provides health care to prison inmates across the country. It is headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri. Mr. Halkett is a licensed clinical professional counselor. In connection with his employment at CMS, he provided mental health care to inmates from Downeast Correctional Facility in Machiasport, Maine.

Throughout the course of his employment, Mr. Halkett repeatedly complained about what, he believed to be, illegal breaches of confidentiality laws. For instance, he complained that some nurses illegally removed documents from the medical file of an inmate. He alleged that these nurses removed the documents in order to defend themselves against a complaint filed with the Maine Board of Nursing. Judge Woodcock held that there was enough evidence for a jury to reasonably conclude that CMS fired Mr. Halkett because of his opposition to these illegal activities. CMS denies these allegations. As such, a jury will likely have to decide what actually happened.