On December 4, 2024, the Maine Department of Labor (DOL) adopted finalized rules for the Maine Paid Family and Medical Leave Program (PFML). This rulemaking follows the Maine Legislature’s passage of the new law in 2023....more
New Hampshire has become the 26th U.S. state to enact a version of the model CROWN Act, which stands for “Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair.” On July 3, 2024, Governor Chris Sununu signed into law...more
Beginning May 1, 2026, Maine’s new paid family leave law will allow Maine employees up to 12 weeks of family and medical leave benefits over a one-year period.
Benefits will be financed by a mandatory “premium” based on...more
Vermont will join its neighboring state New Hampshire in implementing a voluntary paid family and medical leave insurance program.
The program, called the Vermont Family and Medical Leave Insurance Plan (VT-FMLI), will be...more
Relying on the parties’ written employment agreement and compensation plans, a California federal district court held that an at-will employee who was laid off due to COVID-19 could not recover commissions that were not fully...more
10/25/2021
/ At-Will Employment ,
Breach of Contract ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Covenant of Good Faith and Fair Dealing ,
Employment Policies ,
Lay-Offs ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Sales Commissions ,
Wage and Hour ,
Written Agreements
Maine’s new “An Act Relating to Fair Chance in Employment” prohibits employers from requesting an applicant’s criminal history on their initial employment applications. An employer may ask about an applicant’s criminal...more
New Hampshire has joined eight states and the District of Columbia when, on June 24, 2021, the New Hampshire Legislature passed a two-year state budget that includes a paid leave program. Governor Chris Sununu signed the...more
Maine employees will soon be eligible to take protected unpaid leave to care for serious health conditions of their grandchildren. On June 14, 2021, Governor Janet Mills signed into law L.D. 61, an Act to Include Grandparents...more
As the January 1, 2021, effective date of Maine’s Earned Paid Employee Leave Law approaches, the state Department of Labor (DOL) has promulgated the much-anticipated final regulations for implementing the statute...more
Maine has begun Stage 1 of a four-stage plan to reopen the Maine economy following the stay-at-home order issued in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Governor Janet Mills’ plan, Together We Are Maine: Restarting Maine’s...more
New Hampshire Governor Christopher Sununu has issued Executive Order #40 (Stay at Home 2.0), setting guidelines for reopening a broad range of businesses in the state following the shutdown order in response to the COVID-19...more
Maine Governor Janet Mills has signed into law “An Act Authorizing Earned Employee Leave,” the first law in the nation to allow employees to use mandated paid leave for any reason. The new law, signed on May 28, will take...more
The Maine legislature recently passed An Act Authorizing Earned Employee Leave. If Governor Mills, who has been vocal in her support of the bill, signs the bill into law, it would take effect on January 1, 2021.
The bill...more
New Hampshire became the 20th state in the country to prohibit discrimination of all forms based upon gender identity when Governor Chris Sununu signed House Bill 1319 into law on June 8, 2018. The law goes into effect on...more