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Maine Law Court issues groundbreaking discrimination opinion

by Peter D. Lowe and Connor Beatty On Thursday, January 30, Maine’s Supreme Judicial Court issued a groundbreaking and controversial decision. The Law Court ruled that a school district discriminated against one of its students when it told the student she couldn’t use the female restroom because she is transgendered. Although this decision directly affects […]

More mysteries of mitigation

by Karen Sargeant and Clayton Jones Last week, we reported on the Ontario Court of Appeal’s decision in Bowes v. Goss Power Products Ltd., which found that an employee does not have a duty to mitigate where an employment contract contains a fixed severance entitlement but no express requirement to mitigate. The Court of Appeal […]

Arbitration: Mandatory Arbitration OK for Wrongful Termination Claims–but Only if Agreement Is Fair; Make Sure Your Agreements Will Hold Up in Court

The California Supreme Court has decided that its landmark ruling in 2000 that required mandatory arbitration agreements to contain certain fairness protections for employees isn’t just limited to discrimination and harassment claims. We’ll explain the court’s new opinion.

Rolling the Dice: The Day I Started at BLR

From Dan: As a way to honor the individuals who have taught me critical life lessons about people and business, I’ve invited several to write guest columns to run in this space over the next few weeks. Today’s voice of experience is provided by Robert L. Brady, who founded Business and Legal Resources (BLR®) in […]

Employee Leave: Court Says FMLA Doesn’t Bar Changes To Benefits

In 1998, Wells Fargo Bank merged with Northwest Bank. Under Wells Fargo’s sick leave policy before the merger, employees earned one sick day a month, and unused sick days could be carried to the next year. At the time, employees also earned a certain amount of paid vacation days a year, which could be carried […]

DOL Throws Surprise Birthday Party for FMLA–Final Regulations Issued

It was a surprise birthday party for the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), says Susan Schoenfeld, JD; on February 5, 2013, exactly 20 years after the FMLA was signed, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued a Final Rule ahead of the planned regulatory schedule. Just what HR was hoping for—more complicated regulations. The […]

House Passes Momentous Health Care Reform Legislation

In a 220-215 vote, House Democrats passed a controversial health care reform bill with only one Republican voting for the legislation. The Affordable Health Care for America Act (H.R. 3962) is a combination of three different health care reform bills approved by House committees this summer and is 1,990 pages with a 42-page manager’s amendment. […]

Wage and Hour Simple? I Don’t Think So

Many of the uninitiated do think compensation’s simple, but those same people keep paying out on million-dollar suits. In yesterday’s Advisor, we featured three million-dollar wage and hour lawsuits. Today, two more suits and an introduction to a unique source of compensation solutions that might just help you avoid a million-dollar suit. Oriental Forest Will […]

Supreme Court of Canada Broadens Dismissed Employee’s Duty to Minimize Damages

By Rachel Ravary and Philippe Lacoursière McCarthy Tetrault Chalk one up for employers! In an era when the courts seem to be on a slippery slope of broadening employee rights, Canada’s highest court has given employers a break when it comes to assessing the costs of dismissing an employee without cause. In its decision earlier […]