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Reasonable Accommodation of Applicants

By: Melissa Calhoon Jones
July 26, 2022
An amendment to the Maryland Human Relations Act (MHRA) takes effect October 1, 2022, expressly requiring covered employers to provide reasonable accommodation to job applicants with disabilities unless doing so would cause an undue hardship on the operations of the employer.  This amendment... Read more >
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Federal COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates: Litigation Update

January 14, 2022
Supreme Court Blocks the OSHA ETS; Upholds the CMS Mandate In a 6-3 opinion, the Supreme Court of the United States blocked the OSHA ETS, holding that although the Secretary of Labor, acting through OSHA, is empowered to set workplace safety standards, the Secretary is not entitled to enact ... Read more >
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Large Employers, Health Care Providers, and Federal Government Contractors - What Do the Federal COVID-19 Mandates Mean to You?

By: Melissa Calhoon Jones and Kerianne P. Kemmerzell
November 24, 2021
As we have reported since the COVID-19 pandemic began, it has created numerous and unprecedented requirements for employers to navigate.  Now, pursuant to OSHA’s COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing Emergency Temporary Standard (“ETS”), President Biden’s Executive Order 14042 for federal go... Read more >
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UPDATE: D.C. Ban on Non-Compete Agreements Amendment Act

By: Melissa Calhoon Jones
September 3, 2021
On April 1, 2021, we provided a summary of the D.C. Ban on Non-Compete Agreements Amendment Act of 2020 in our Non-Compete Round-Up.  As we pointed out, the D.C. Act is one of the most restrictive bans on non-compete agreements in the country.  Although we previously reported that the Act ... Read more >
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Maryland Employment Laws Taking Effect October 1, 2021

August 16, 2021
As Maryland employers continue to navigate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Maryland General Assembly passed several new bills this session that were recently signed into law, to take effect on October 1, 2021. These laws clarify and alter existing laws from 2020 and create new requirements... Read more >
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What Taxpayers Need to Know About the Increased Child Tax Credit in 2021

By: Kerianne P. Kemmerzell
June 17, 2021
The American Rescue Plan Act (the “ARPA”) of 2021 recently increased the amount taxpayers can receive for the Child Tax Credit.  For a taxpayer’s 2021 tax returns, the amount was increased by $1,000 (from $2,000 to $3,000) for children between the age of 6 and 18 at the end of the 2021 ca... Read more >
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Non-Compete Laws Round-Up

April 1, 2021
This information was updated on September 3, 2021.  Click here to see the update. Employers have used non-compete agreements, or restrictive covenants, to prohibit their employees from working for a competitor within a certain time period after leaving their job.  In recent years, a han... Read more >
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ARPA Tax Credit Provisions Impact Employee Leave and COBRA Coverage

By: Melissa Calhoon Jones and Kerianne P. Kemmerzell
March 31, 2021
This information has been updated with DOL resources. The American Rescue Plan Act (“ARPA”), which was enacted on March 11, 2021, includes provisions for employee paid sick and family leave, and assistance with payment of COBRA premiums for the continuation of health coverage, the costs of wh... Read more >
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Making the COVID-19 Vaccine Mandatory in the Workplace

By: Kerianne P. Kemmerzell
February 2, 2021
As the COVID-19 vaccine becomes more widely available to the public, many employers are considering whether it is legally possible – or prudent – to require employees to receive such vaccines when they become available.  The short answer is: it depends.  Consequently, before employers ... Read more >
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FFCRA Leave Expires; Payroll Tax Credits Available Until March 31, 2021

By: Melissa Calhoon Jones
January 4, 2021
The paid leave requirements of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ended on December 31, 2020.  As a reminder, these leave requirements had two components:  (1) up to 80 hours of emergency paid sick leave, which could be used by an employee who was unable to work for any of... Read more >