While the Trump Administration has effectively blocked the Obama Administration's plan to increase the salary standard for exempt status, its next moves are far from clear. In Nevada v. Dep't of Labor, C.A. No. 4:16-CV-731-ALM (E.D. Tex 2017 Aug. 31, 2017), the United...
PLDO Law Blog
Employment Law
IS MORBID OBESITY A “DISABILITY” UNDER THE ADA?
The answer to the question of whether morbid obesity is a disability continues to be: "sometimes." Because a Chicago Transit Authority bus driver who weighed over 500 pounds offered no evidence of any underlying physiological disorder or condition that caused his...
Password Sharing May Be A Crime
Amid the flurry of recent news about computer hacking and data breaches, a recent lawsuit quietly wound its way up to the steps of the United States Supreme Court. In that case, a former employee left his employer to open a competing business. After he left, he asked...
WORKER’S REQUEST FOR MULTI-MONTH ADA LEAVE AFTER FMLA LEAVE LAWFULLY DENIED
A vexing problem for employers is the period of time it must allow for leave. A very recent decision from the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit demonstrates that courts and administrative agencies continue to disagree regarding an employer's...
HIGH STAKES: DRAFTING AND INTERPRETING PAYMENT REJECTIONS UNDER MASSACHUSETTS’ PROMPT PAY ACT
Under the Massachusetts Prompt Pay Act, which governs construction contracts, unless an owner meets the Act's "time and substance" requirements for rejecting a payment application from a contractor (ditto for subcontractors' applications to contractors), that...
RHODE ISLAND SUPREME COURT RULES THAT A PROPERTY’S FORECLOSURE WAS VALID DESPITE PLAINTIFF’S CLAIMS THAT MORTGAGE DOCUMENTS WERE “AMBIGUOUS”
BackgroundA recent case arose out of foreclosure proceedings that were instituted by Wells Fargo Bank (“Wells Fargo” or “defendant”) with respect to property located at 18 High Street in Bristol, Rhode Island. The property’s owner (“plaintiff”) secured the mortgage by...
FDA CONSIDERS RESCHEDULING MARIJUANA: A MILESTONE IN DRUG POLICY REFORM
The landscape of drug policy in the United States is poised for a significant shift as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) undertakes a reassessment of marijuana’s drug scheduling classification. The FDA is conducting a comprehensive review of marijuana’s current...
ARE NON-COMPETITION AGREEMENTS ENFORCEABLE IN RHODE ISLAND?
COURTS RULE IN FAVOR OF THE EMPLOYER’S AGREEMENT IN RECENT CASE The Rhode Island Supreme Court recently addressed the enforceability of a non-competition provision. In Walls v. Griggs & Browne Pest Control, Inc., the Court reviewed an agreement between Brian Walls...
NON-COMPETE AGREEMENTS IN RHODE ISLAND REMAIN ENFORCEABLE (FOR NOW)
On June 26, 2024, Governor Dan McKee vetoed two bills (S2436 A and H8059 A) that were passed by the General Assembly in the late hours of its final day of the 2024 session. The bills were amendments to the Rhode Island Noncompetition Agreement Act that, if signed into...
