State and Federal laws prohibit discrimination in hiring. Illegal discrimination occurs when an employer fails to hire due to a job applicant’s age, race, national origin, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disabilities, and other protected traits. Discrimination during the hiring process can often be subtle or overlooked. Employees should be concerned…
Workers’ rights advocates in Maine have focused their attention on paid sick leave. The Portland City Council is currently considering legislation proposed by the Maine Women’s Lobby and Southern Maine Worker’s Center which would require employers to give all employees paid sick time. The new law would require Portland businesses…
Two former Walmart employees in New York have filed a class action against the company under New York’s law that entitles pregnant employees to reasonable accommodations. Under a New York law enacted in 2016, employers must provide pregnant employees with reasonable accommodations for pregnancy-related medical conditions, such as changes to…
Last week, a federal judge held that a jury could reasonably find that Hannaford fired one of the Maine Employee Rights Group’s (MERG) clients because of his age, disabilities, and need for medical leave. MERG’s client worked for Hannaford for over thirty years and served as the Produce Manager at…
This week a Federal judge in Maine denied, in large part, Hannaford’s motion to throw out a lawsuit filed by the Maine Employee Rights Group (MERG). MERG argued that Hannaford violated disability discrimination and medical leave laws when it refused to modify our client’s schedule. As a result, the case is…
Maine legislators held a hearing this week on a bipartisan bill to explore the feasibility of an employee-financed paid family medical leave system. House Majority Leader Erin Herbig (D-Belfast) and Sen. Amy Volk (R-Scarborough) have co-sponsored the bill. Herbig and Volk previously sponsored a bill to establish an employee-financed paid…
A Suffolk County jury slapped the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA) with a $1.2 million verdict yesterday because it discriminated against an employee who needed medical leave. The employee, a data resources manager, suffered from nerve tumors in his feet which required surgery and recovery time. The employee had a…
Yesterday, the Maine Employee Rights Group (“MERG”) secured another victory for our client in a federal case against Woodlands Senior Living of Brewer (“Woodlands”). As we previously reported, a Bangor jury found that Woodlands unlawfully discriminated against our client because she needed medical leave for a disability. The jury awarded…
The Mount Desert Islander published the article below about the Maine Employee Rights Group’s (MERG) lawsuit against Mt. Desert Hospital. Lawsuit alleges discrimination BANGOR — A former Mount Desert Island Hospital employee has filed a lawsuit in federal court claiming the hospital failed to accommodate her disability stemming from medical…
The federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) requires covered employers to provide eligible employees with up to 12 weeks of leave per year for certain qualifying reasons, like a serious health condition or the birth of a child. For employees who need to take all, or close to all,…