Category: Employment and Labor Law
DOL Issues New Overtime Rule
On September 24, the federal Department of Labor issued its final rule on the overtime rate. The new rate becomes effective on January 1, 2020. Under the new rule, non-exempt employees who earn less than $35,568/year are now eligible for overtime pay. This change raises the salary threshold from its current rate of $455/week ($23,660/year) to $684/week …
Are You Prepared for the New Employment-Related Legislation?
By Anne-Marie L. Storey, Esq. Employers should have their calendars marked for Thursday, September 19, 2019 as the day on which nonemergency laws passed in the First Regular Session of the 129th Legislature become effective. In our recent Lunch and Learn sessions discussing the legislation, we recommended that employers review existing application forms as well …
Maine Enacts New Law Regarding Noncompetition Agreements
On June 28, 2019, Governor Mills signed L.D. 733, entitled “An Act to Promote Keeping Workers in Maine” (the “Act”) into law. The Act will impose some significant new restrictions on noncompetition agreements in Maine. Which types of agreements are subject to the Act? As a threshold matter, the Act defines a noncompetition agreement as …
New Maine Legislation: An Act Regarding Pay Equality
The business community is well aware that there are many proposed and pending pieces of legislation that would affect the workplace setting. One of those, An Act Regarding Pay Equality, has already passed. This law, which was signed into law by the Governor on April 12, amends both the general employment laws and the Maine …
How Not to Use Surveillance in an FMLA Situation
A recent decision from the US District Court in Idaho provides some useful reminders of what can constitute interference and retaliation under the FMLA. As our readers know, it is a violation of the federal FMLA to interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise or attempted exercise of FMLA rights by an employee. Courts have …
Ensuring Compliance with Harassment Training Obligations
The national attention given recently to sexual harassment serves as a good reminder to Maine employers of their obligations to employees in this context. In addition, the first of a new year is always a good time to renew a commitment to a harassment free workplace and ensure compliance with training requirements. In terms of …
U.S. Department of Labor’s OSHA Extends Compliance Date for Electronically Submitting Injury, Illness Reports to December 15, 2017
To allow affected employers additional time to become familiar with a new electronic reporting system launched on August 1, 2017, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced on November 22, 2017, that it has extended the date by which employers must electronically report injury and illness data through the Injury Tracking Application (ITA) …
Minimum Salary Level for Maine Exempt Employees Rises To $30,000 per Year, or $576.93 per Week, Effective on January 1, 2018
Referendum Question 4, approved by Maine voters in November, 2016, raised the Maine minimum wage to $9.00 per hour, effective on January 7, 2017, and to $10.00 per hour effective as of January 1, 2018, with more annual increases in later years. A consequence of that change was that the minimum salary in Maine for …
Employers Can be At Risk for Breaches of Personal Employee Information
In the course of ordinary business, employers often come into possession of personal and very confidential information pertaining to its employees, including Social Security numbers, dates of birth, bank account information, and even health information developed through a wellness program, requests for leave or disability benefits. This information may come from background investigations or from …
A Cautionary Tale About the FMLA
This is a story about the potential consequences of not properly training supervisors as to FMLA rights and obligations. It is a long and detailed story, but the details are necessary to understand how the court came to its decision. It is also an important story because ultimately the court determined not only that the …