News and Alerts
Estate Planning Newsletter — March 2, 2021
In this issue, read about The Secret Power of Trusts, What To Know About the Alternative Minimum Tax, Your Grandchildren and Your Estate, How To Raise and Maintain a Credit Score, and more!
Court Says Employee Cannot Claim Discrimination Not Asserted Before Administrative Agency, But Also Says The Employee Does Not Forego Claims In Court By Seeking Arbitration
In Nuey v. City of Cranston, the United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island recently ruled that an employee cannot bring a claim for a particular type of discrimination in court when the employee did not specifically identify that type of discrimination in an administrative complaint before the state agency charged with investigating discrimination.
Rhode Island salon employee’s lawsuit gets a trim
The decision provides a reminder that employees must tie their FLSA claims to unpaid minimum wages or overtime, and that private individuals (as opposed to the government) lack standing to sue for alleged violations of the state’s Sunday and holiday pay statute.
Employer Update: Federal Coronavirus Legislation and State Benefits for RI Employees
March 18, 2020 update to our March 3, 2020 guidance to employers regarding the coronavirus and employers’ legal rights and responsibilities.
Advice for Employers Regarding the Coronavirus Outbreak
With the recent news about the Coronavirus, many employers are asking questions concerning their rights and obligations when it comes to addressing this issue with their employees.
Legal Update: NLRB Pulls Off December Hat Trick
As they are looking ahead to 2020, employers should take note of three recent decisions issued by the National Labor Relations Board.
State of the law: noncompete agreements in Rhode Island
On July 15, 2019, Governor Gina Raimondo signed the Rhode Island Noncompetition Agreement Act into law. Beginning on January 15, 2020, the statute will place new limits on the enforceability of noncompete agreements in the Ocean State.
DISABILITY DISCRIMINATION: Complaint Disabled: SSDI Benefits Application Sinks ADA Claim
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit (whose rulings apply to all Rhode Island employers) recently ruled an employee couldn’t establish she could still perform her job when she had previously sworn under oath—when applying for Social Security disability income (SSDI) benefits—she was totally disabled.
Employer Liability: Timing Is Everything: Gender Bias Claims Iced By Employer’s Records
In Bonilla-Ramirez v. MVM, Inc., the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit recently ruled that an employer didn’t discriminate against an employee based on gender or illegally retaliate against her when it terminated her for violating its standards of conduct. The 1st Circuit focused on whether the employer had a legitimate reason for terminating the employee and on the timing of the employee’s complaints.
Litigation: Differing decisions illustrate disability discrimination pleading requirements
In June 2018, Chief Judge William E. Smith of the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island dismissed an employee’s disability discrimination complaint for failing to adequately allege that she had a disability. Less than two months later, Judge John J. McConnell (of the same court) denied an employer’s motion to dismiss that made the same argument.
Employer Liability – #MeToo at UNE: Faculty member’s Title VII claim to be heard by jury
Dr. L. C. is a faculty member at the University of New England (UNE). In a lawsuit brought in federal court, she alleged that her transfer to a new department reduced her teaching and career opportunities in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Maine Human Rights Act (MHRA) even though she consented to the transfer.
Arbitration Agreements: Does continued employment compel arbitration? RI Judges are split.
Arbitration Agreements: Does continued employment compel arbitration? RI Judges are split.
Continued employment is sufficient to enforce a new arbitration agreement between an employer and an employee, a judge in the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island recently ruled, disagreeing with another Rhode Island district judge. Because an arbitration agreement’s validity is a question of state contract law, the issue of enforceability based on continued employment is one the Rhode Island Supreme Court ultimately must decide.