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…
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…
On January 27, 2011, the First Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that an employee may not take unpaid leave from work to care for a family member so that he can undergo religious healing rituals. A former employee of the Lahey Clinic, Marial Lucia Tayag, brought the case. The Lahey…
On January 24, 2011, the Maine Human Rights Commission (MHRC) unanimously found that there were reasonable grounds to believe that Dudley’s Diner discriminated against Kelly Chipman because of her vision problems. The Diner, located in Belfast, Maine, fired Ms. Chipman on March 5, 2009 because of her vision problems. Dudley’s…
On January 19, 2011, Judge Woodcock, of the U.S. District Court in Bangor, ruled that a jury could reasonably find that Crisis & Counseling Centers, Inc. fired a whistleblower named Ellen Gammon because she blew the whistle on Crisis & Counseling’s allegedly illegal and unsafe business practices. Crisis & Counseling…
The Maine Legislature is looking for ways to reduce the length of time it takes for the Maine Human Rights Commission (MHRC) to investigate discrimination complaints. The MHRC is the state agency that investigates complaints of unlawful discrimination in employment as well as other settings. The Legislature has asked the…
A federal judge in Philadelphia recently decided that a jury will decide this question in a case that pits a former television news anchor against the television station that fired him. Fox 29 fired news anchor Tom Burlington because Mr. Burlington used the n-word during a discussion with his co-workers.…
The Seventh Amendment to the U.S. Constitution entitles you to a jury trial if your employer violates your common law rights. For example, if you and your employer had a contract which set forth how much your employer would pay you and it violated the contract, the Seventh Amendment would…
A group of people who worked as FedEx drivers have sued FedEx because they claim FedEx misclassified them as independent contractors. They argue that FedEx should have classified them as employees instead. By treating the drivers as independent contractors, FedEx saved money on overtime pay, unemployment taxes, payroll taxes, and…
In the coming legislative session, Republicans are going to try to enact reforms that will impact Maine state employees. For instance, they have proposed an elimination of the Labor Committee in the Maine legislature which has jurisdiction over issues such as workplace safety and wage laws. Republicans have also proposed…