In its 2026 session, the Maryland General Assembly passed several significant pieces of legislation that, if enacted, will impact private employers in Maryland, including one that streamlines the process for bringing civil...more
4/15/2026
/ Child Labor ,
Collective Bargaining ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Labor Relations ,
Local v State Laws ,
NLRA ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Pending Legislation ,
Private Sector ,
Public Employees ,
Public Employers ,
State Labor Laws ,
Unfair Labor Practices
This is the first in a three-part series of articles intended to provide readers with an understanding of the Maryland Department of Labor’s (MDOL) final regulations implementing the state’s long-awaited FAMLI program. This...more
4/15/2026
/ Employee Benefits ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Final Rules ,
Notice Requirements ,
Paid Family Leave Law ,
Paid Leave ,
Payroll Taxes ,
Registration Requirement ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
State Labor Departments ,
State Labor Laws
Employers may not use private agreements with employees to shorten the statutory filing periods for claims under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 or the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), according to the...more
3/18/2026
/ ADEA ,
Appellate Courts ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Filing Deadlines ,
Pre-Employment Agreements ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Statutory Deadlines ,
Title VII ,
Unenforceable Contract Terms
As return-to-office mandates rise, so, too, do employee requests for telework accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). On February 11, 2026, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)...more
2/17/2026
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Failure to Accommodate ,
New Guidance ,
Public Employees ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Rehabilitation Act ,
Remote Working ,
Return-to-Work Agreements ,
Telecommuting
Requests for remote work accommodations are on the rise, and a recent decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, Haggins v. Wilson Air Center, LLC, offers timely guidance to employers navigating such...more
2/11/2026
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Appellate Courts ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Essential Functions ,
Failure to Accommodate ,
Interactive Process ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Remote Working ,
Retaliation ,
Summary Judgment
May an employer ask an employee about his or her vaccination status? And may the employer then take an adverse employment action based on that status? ...more
2/4/2026
/ Adverse Employment Action ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Appellate Courts ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Employment Litigation ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Religious Discrimination ,
Title VII ,
Vaccinations
Navigating reasonable accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and related state laws can be challenging for employers—particularly on the thorny issues of leave and remote work. The U.S. Court of...more
1/23/2026
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Appellate Courts ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Employment Litigation ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Interactive Process ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Remote Working ,
State Law Claims ,
Telecommuting
A new opinion letter from the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Wage and Hour Division explains that employees may use leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) not only to attend qualifying medical appointments, but...more
The U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Wage and Hour Division has issued a new opinion letter, FMLA2026-2, clarifying how to calculate leave usage under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) when an employer shuts down...more
On October 28, 2025, the Maryland Department of Labor (MDOL) reissued proposed regulations to implement the Claims chapter (04) of the state’s Family and Medical Leave Insurance (FAMLI) law. ...more
Following the Supreme Court of the United States’ April 2024 ruling in Muldrow v. City of St. Louis, employers have grappled with determining what constitutes an adverse employment action that will support a claim under...more
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has released an advisory memorandum opinion making clear that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 may require the federal government to provide “situational telework” to its...more
10/1/2025
/ Advisory Opinions ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Federal Employees ,
Groff v DeJoy ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Religious Accommodation ,
Remote Working ,
SCOTUS ,
Telecommuting ,
Title VII
Many employers assume that once an employee or job applicant files a discrimination lawsuit after receiving a notice of right to sue from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency’s involvement in...more
9/5/2025
/ Administrative Authority ,
Administrative Procedure ,
Appeals ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Litigation ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Government Investigations ,
Investigations ,
Notice of Right to Sue ,
Split of Authority ,
Statutory Violations ,
Title VII
On August 15, 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit overturned a federal district court’s decision to block the enforcement of the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) against the State of Texas....more
8/21/2025
/ Appeals ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Employment Litigation ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Final Rules ,
Injunctions ,
New Legislation ,
Pregnancy Discrimination ,
Pregnant Workers Fairness Act ,
Quorum ,
Reasonable Accommodation
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit recently held that an employer will be liable for a customer’s harassment of an employee only when it intends for such harassment to occur. ...more
8/18/2025
/ Burden of Proof ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Customers ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Employment Litigation ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Harassment ,
Loper Bright Enterprises v Raimondo ,
Negligence ,
Retaliation ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Third-Party ,
Title VII ,
Vendors
According to the Maryland Department of Labor (MDOL), employers must now comply with the Maryland Economic Stabilization Act, which requires employers to provide notice of mass layoffs or reductions in force (RIFs) in certain...more
8/11/2025
/ Compliance Dates ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Layoffs ,
Mini-Warn Acts ,
New Regulations ,
Notice Requirements ,
Proposed Rules ,
State Labor Departments ,
State Labor Laws ,
Voluntary Reduction in Force ,
WARN Act
Granting a reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) does not render that accommodation sacrosanct. A case recently decided by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit illustrates two...more
In July 2025, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) issued two important memos regarding religious accommodations and religious expression in federal workplaces. ...more
8/4/2025
/ Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Executive Orders ,
First Amendment ,
Office of Personnel Management (OPM) ,
Religious Accommodation ,
Religious Discrimination ,
Religious Expression ,
Title VII ,
Trump Administration
On June 14, 2025, the Maryland Department of Labor (MDOL) reissued proposed regulations to implement the Maryland Economic Stabilization Act, which requires employers to provide notice of a mass layoff or a reduction in force...more
A recent May 2025 opinion from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit warns employers that they may not be able to rely strictly on a health care provider’s certification under the Family and Medical Leave Act...more
7/7/2025
/ Appeals ,
Certification Requirements ,
Employee Rights ,
Employees ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Medical Certification Requests ,
Paid Leave ,
Physicians ,
Pregnancy
In a recent decision, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals highlighted the requirement that employees requesting an accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) must engage in the interactive process with...more
A recent case from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit offers insights on several interesting aspects of claims under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), including the impact of an extended delay in the...more
7/1/2025
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Appeals ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Litigation ,
Essential Functions ,
Interactive Process ,
Medical Examinations ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Veterans ,
Veterans Administration
Maryland employers are facing the first summer under a heat-related illness prevention standard issued by Maryland Occupational Safety and Health (MOSH)....more
A recent press release from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announcing a $250,000 settlement and consent-decree resolution of a disability discrimination lawsuit may serve to remind employers of the...more
5/8/2025
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Litigation ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Interactive Process ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Settlement
The Maryland General Assembly’s 2025 legislative session ended at 11:59 p.m. on Monday, April 7. Unlike previous years’ editions, this session ended up being a relatively positive one for employers. ...more