News & Events

This spring the D.C. Council passed the Transportation Benefits Equity Amendment Act of 2020 in an effort to encourage employees driving in to D.C. for work to consider more environmentally friendly alternatives.

Last month, in accordance with its zero tolerance policy, DC radio station 106.7 The Fan announced the termination of sports radio host Chad Dukes owing to “racist and other inappropriate comments” made by Dukes on his personal podcast.

Princeton University has agreed to pay over $1 million in back pay and future wages to a group of female employees, following findings by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP), that between 2012 and 2014, female employees in full professor positions were paid less than their male counterparts.

The President’s Executive Order on Combating Race and Sex Stereotyping (the “Executive Order”) has caused serious concern and confusion among federal contractors. The government’s latest guidance gives us more information, but many unanswered questions remain.

Due to reports of lenders delaying funding of purchase money loans, Maryland’s Commissioner of Financial Regulation has recently issued guidance reminding consumer mortgage lenders that Section §7-109(b) of the Real Property Article of the Maryland Code requires lenders to disburse the proceeds of purchase money loans to the settlement agent on or before the date of closing. Lenders who fail to comply with the Wet Settlement Act are prohibited from charging interest on the loan for the first 30 days following the date of closing.

Last week the Center for Disease Control (CDC) revised its definition of “close contact” with someone with COVID-19 to include shorter, repeated contacts. Previously, the CDC defined “close contact” as 15 consecutive minutes within 6 feet of someone who had tested positive for COVID-19. The revised guidance now considers a total of 15 minutes of exposure within a 24-hour period to constitute “close contact” as well.

Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Labor through the Office of Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued the following helpful guidance for service industry employers—

In a ruling of particular significance in the current COVID-19 era, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit recently ruled in Kirilenko-Ison v. Board of Education of Danville Independent Schools that employee advocacy on behalf of a disabled third party is protected by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

On September 22, 2020, the President of the United States issued an Executive Order on Combatting Race and Sex Stereotyping (the “Executive Order”).