On September 16, 2010, union representatives spoke on behalf of Rumford paper mill workers at a hearing in Washington, D.C. The hearing was before the International Trade Commission. Maine’s congressional delegation also testified. The union representatives and Maine’s congressional delegation testified in favor of a tariff the U.S. has placed…
On September 16, 2010, Judge Singal of the U.S. District Court for the District of Maine ruled that a group of former Wood Structures employees may continue to pursue their WARN Act claims against Wood Structures, Roark Capital Group, and some of its affiliated companies. The WARN Act requires certain…
On September 9, 2010, Judge Hornby of the U.S. District Court for the District of Maine adopted the recommendation of Magistrate Judge Rich to permit Joseph Donahue, Jr.’s age discrimination case to go to trial. Mr. Donahue brought the case against his former employer, Clair Auto Group. Clair Auto Group…
On September 2, 2010, Chief Judge for the United States District Court for the District of Maine, John A. Woodcock, Jr., denied Defendant Mid-State Machine Product’s Motions for Summary Judgment in the case captioned Glenn Duckworth v. Mid-State Machine Products, Docket No. 09-CV-279-B-W. As set out in the Court’s decision,…
In Collazo v. Bristol-Myers Squibb Manufacturing, Inc., the First Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston held that Mr. Collazo’s case against his former employer, Bristol-Myers Squibb, could go forward. (The First Circuit is the federal appellate court which serves the states of Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and the…
In Maine, unlike most states, state employees do not pay into the federal Social Security system. Some Maine legislators are seeking to change that. Under the current system, only 1 in 5 employees receives a full pension because most employees do not work for the State long enough to get…
On June 25, 2010, a jury in Cumberland County Superior Court, in Portland, Maine, found that Express Jet discriminated against a former employee, Edward Russell, because of his sexual orientation. The jury awarded a total of $1,047,000 in damages to Mr. Russell. Express Jet discriminated against Mr. Russell when it…
On June 17, 2010, a minority of the U.S. Senate blocked passage of a bill that would have extended unemployment compensation benefits for unemployed Mainers and others around the nation. The extension of unemployment benefits is one provision in a larger bill intended to help create and protect jobs. The…
The Maine Human Rights Commission (MHRC) found on May 24, 2010 that there were reasonable grounds to believe that the Town of Sanford discriminated against a Lyman woman, Lynnia Burpee, because of her age. She was 58 years old at the time. The Town denied Ms. Burpee a position as…
On May 24, 2010, a Cumberland County Superior Court jury awarded Michael Afthim $1,015,000 in damages in connection with Mr. Afthim’s lawsuit against his former employer, Alternative Labor Resources (“ALR”) for violating Mr. Afthim’s rights under the Maine Whistleblowers’ Protection Act and defamation. Mr. Afthim was a superintendent employed by…