In EEOC v. Dimensions Healthcare Sys., No. 15-2342 (D. Md. Sept. 2, 2016), the District of Maryland denied the defendant’s motion for summary judgment on the plaintiff’s Title VII and Pregnancy Discrimination Act claims. The court’s decision largely turned on a decision maker’s comment, which the court found could be direct evidence of discrimination.
In that case, the plaintiff sought a promotion into a management-level position, but the company chose a male candidate instead. When the plaintiff asked the decision maker to explain the choice, the decision maker said that the company chose the man because of his “management background.” There was evidence that the plaintiff had reason to be suspicious of this explanation, so she asked again. This time, the decision maker allegedly explained, “Well, like I said, he has a management background. Plus, you were on maternity leave for a while.” Following this meeting, the plaintiff learned that the decision maker was alleged to have previously demoted female employees who had been out on maternity leave.
https://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.png00NCBARBLOGhttps://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.pngNCBARBLOG2016-10-13 16:41:182016-10-13 16:41:18Remark Puts Maternity Leave Case Through Summary Judgment On Direct Evidence Theory
Please allow me to introduce myself as chair of the IP Section, along with our new blog format. We will use this blog to share articles and keep you posted on networking events and other programs that we are planning for the year. If I can get you to do one thing, please mark April 28, 2017 on your calendar when you (and hopefully your family) will be attending our annual section meeting in Wilmington!
About Me
It suits me to write my first Chair’s Comments in the form of a blog post, as I prefer less formal modes of communication. I spent my formative years in Las Vegas and then studied engineering at MIT and UC Berkeley before attending Yale for law school. After law school, I clerked for a federal judge in Reno, NV, the “Biggest Little City in the World,” and practiced patent litigation in San Francisco. I also took full advantage of the outdoor adventures, such as downhill skiing and mountain biking, that abound in the Sierras. My family moved to Durham in 2005. I currently serve as a partner at Brooks Pierce in Raleigh, where my broad IP practice includes licensing, assertion, and white collar defense. I also co-teach the Start-Up Ventures Clinic at Duke Law School.
This Blog
With the support of section leadership, our intrepid editors Lauren Anderson and Michael Morlock decided to embrace the 21st century: We have switched our IP Links newsletter into a blog available to the entire world. This should allow more timely stories delivered in shorter bites, but only if section members generate and share content relevant to our section.
The Year Ahead
Our section has strong leadership in the form of capable officers and dedicated committee chairs. The trademark committee just conducted a seminar about beer law in Asheville. Expect similar, top-notch programs throughout the year. The cornerstone annual CLE will be presented, in collaboration with the Sports and Entertainment Section, in Wilmington on April 28. We need you there. Unless we have good attendance, the Bar Association will encourage us to hold all of our annual meetings at the Bar Center in Cary. More importantly, our section sees real value in spending time getting to know one another. In addition to CLE options, our events will stand out as a way to connect with your colleagues across the state.
I look forward to seeing you at an IP Section event soon!
https://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.png00NCBARBLOGhttps://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.pngNCBARBLOG2016-10-06 15:20:272016-10-06 15:20:27The Chair's Comments: Welcome to a New Year and a New Blog
The EEOC published two items last week of interest to employment counsel:
First, in the September volume of its Digest of Equal Employment Opportunity Law, the EEOC provided some rare insight into the way it views discrimination on the basis of mental health conditions under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Rehabilitation Act. Although the publication is aimed at government agencies, the guidance details the types of accommodations the EEOC expects of employers for employees or applicants with mental health conditions.
https://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.png00NCBARBLOGhttps://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.pngNCBARBLOG2016-10-06 14:55:272016-10-06 14:55:27EEOC Publishes Guidance On Accommodations For Mental Health Conditions And Finalizes New EEO-1 Reporting Form
Welcome everyone to your new Paralegal Division blog! I am Annette Phelps, your new division chair, and I look forward to serving our division over the next year. At the Paralegal Division Council’s annual retreat in July, the council decided to join other NCBA divisions and sections and move to a blog format. While we will certainly miss the nostalgic sense of reading Paralegal Perspectives, our quarterly newsletter, we hope this switch will more quickly deliver content, including more in-depth articles and a wider range of topics of interest. Your feedback is important as we transition to this new format so please feel free to email me directly at [email protected] with your comments and/or concerns about our new blog.
We hope this year will be an exciting time for the division. Our annual meeting is moving to Pinehurst for the next couple of years. Our CPE Committee is working hard to provide a quality program with a wider range of topics that will hopefully reach a wider group of members. Again, your feedback is crucial to the CPE program we offer by way of web casts, live programs, and the annual meeting.
Pro bono opportunities are a big focus this year. In the upcoming months our division will be assisting intakes for the Veterans Pro Bono Network as well as screening and interviewing veterans. We will post more information on available opportunities in our Pro Bono Spotlight.
As a member of the Paralegal Division you have a voice in our division, and I always welcome a chance to hear from you as to what needs you feel are being met or not being met as a member. If you want to become more involved with the division, there are a number of committees you may serve on. You can view these committees through this link: https://www.ncbar.org/media/571643/pd_committee_signup_form.pdf
I look forward to serving this division over the next year and I am extremely excited over the projects and plans for the upcoming year!
I recently returned from the Clio Conference in Chicago. Clio is cloud-based practice management software for law firms. But, don’t stop reading this post just because your firm does not use Clio or the cloud. This post is pertinent to you as long as you continue to practice law in 2016.
The Clio Conference offers more than just information on a product. It is a conference on the future of law. Unlike any other legal technology conferences that I have attended, the Clio Conference exposes attendees to technology used in other law firms today (read – your competitors). From AI (artificial intelligence) to online intake processes, and practice specific technology, firms are moving their data online. Today. Clio brings together a wealth of resources under one roof to show you the direction of where your firm should be moving.
https://www.ncbarblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/adobestock_88488750-blue-icons_socialcomputer.jpeg22504000NCBARBLOGhttps://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.pngNCBARBLOG2016-09-30 11:00:292016-09-30 11:00:29Want To See the Future Of Law Practice? Attend a Tech Conference
In the 50 years since Congress enacted Title VII, scientists, contemporary thinkers, and society in general have reassessed the concept of race. No longer do we view race solely in terms of biology (immutable characteristics). We now understand that race includes social context, culture, and life experiences (mutable characteristics). While society’s understanding of race has changed, Title VII’s original definition — or lack thereof — remains stuck in 1964. Whether a racial characteristic is mutable or immutable matters, as the Court of Appeals for the United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit recently reminded the EEOC: Title VII only protects against discrimination based on immutable characteristics. EEOC v. Catastrophe Mgmt. Solutions, No. 14-13482, 2016 U.S. App. LEXIS 16918 (11th Cir. Sep. 15, 2016).
https://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.png00NCBARBLOGhttps://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.pngNCBARBLOG2016-09-29 16:10:132016-09-29 16:10:13EEOC v. Catastrophe Management Solutions: Title VII Does Not Prohibit Race Discrimination Based On Mutable Characteristics
Bees are fascinating little critters. Their lifespan is only six weeks. In the spring, they gather pollen to store in their hives. As spring blooms into the summer, bees begin gathering nectar to make honey. As the weather becomes cooler in the fall, they gather sap to caulk the cracks in their hives to prepare for winter. The bees of summer were different from the springtime bees who gathered pollen, and the autumn bees know nothing of summertime and have never experienced a winter. How do they know what to do?
We humans are the same way. While we have some insight into our lives looking backward, we have no real understanding of what lies ahead. We can remember childhood when we knew nothing about the birds and the bees. Many of us were grossed out when we first heard about the mechanics of sex from older kids. Surely our parents did not do that. Surely they are not doing it now! We also remember the social awkwardness of adolescence and the angst of our teenage years. Today, as young lawyers, we remember those developmental stages well. Today, struggling with the time and attention demands of balancing our personal and professional lives, starting families and striving to get ahead in our careers, retirement is the last thing on our minds. While we have contemporaries in the financial world urging us to buy insurance products and invest for the future, the eventualities seem remote.
https://www.ncbarblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/TLC.jpg10002817NCBARBLOGhttps://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.pngNCBARBLOG2016-09-27 16:43:542016-09-27 16:43:54The Birds and the Bees and the TLC: What I Wish I’d Known When I Was a YLD Member
Everyone likes a bonus, right? Employees enjoy receiving them, for obvious reasons, and employers use them as a means of rewarding employee achievements and increasing morale. But while paying employees a bonus can seem like a relatively straightforward benefit, depending on how the employer structures the bonus, the bonus can have long-reaching affects by increasing a non-exempt employee’s regular rate of pay for overtime purposes.
https://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.png00NCBARBLOGhttps://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.pngNCBARBLOG2016-09-22 16:39:022016-09-22 16:39:02Knowing When a Bonus Must Be Included In Overtime Pay
Editor’s note: On Oct. 31, 2016, the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals agreed to re-hear the case en banc. Oral arguments are tentatively scheduled for Jan. 24-26, 2017.
On March 4, 1789, the First United States Congress met in Federal Hall in New York City. The air was (probably) thick with dust from the street and powder from their wigs. With the ink still drying on the U.S. Constitution, the actions of that First Congress shed light on how the founders of our nation interpreted the supreme law of the land…that is, according to our U.S. Supreme Court.
Effectively dealing with highly emotional clients can be one of the most difficult aspects of practicing family law. Emotional clients may find it difficult to make rational decisions about their case, causing them to become entrenched in untenable positions. Emotional clients may also be challenging to communicate with effectively, sometimes hearing what they want to hear as opposed to what you are truly saying. Even worse, highly emotional clients may lash out against us or our staff when their anger actually comes from the circumstances they find themselves in, not our representation of them in those circumstances. Because representing highly emotional clients is a nearly unavoidable hazard in our profession, we must all find a way to reach past those emotions to help our clients make sound decisions about their case and future. When dealing with highly emotional clients, keep the following in mind:
https://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.png00NCBARBLOGhttps://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.pngNCBARBLOG2016-09-21 14:40:002018-07-21 19:20:45Take a Deep Breath: Five Tips For Dealing With Highly Emotional Clients
Remark Puts Maternity Leave Case Through Summary Judgment On Direct Evidence Theory
Labor & Employment LawIn EEOC v. Dimensions Healthcare Sys., No. 15-2342 (D. Md. Sept. 2, 2016), the District of Maryland denied the defendant’s motion for summary judgment on the plaintiff’s Title VII and Pregnancy Discrimination Act claims. The court’s decision largely turned on a decision maker’s comment, which the court found could be direct evidence of discrimination.
In that case, the plaintiff sought a promotion into a management-level position, but the company chose a male candidate instead. When the plaintiff asked the decision maker to explain the choice, the decision maker said that the company chose the man because of his “management background.” There was evidence that the plaintiff had reason to be suspicious of this explanation, so she asked again. This time, the decision maker allegedly explained, “Well, like I said, he has a management background. Plus, you were on maternity leave for a while.” Following this meeting, the plaintiff learned that the decision maker was alleged to have previously demoted female employees who had been out on maternity leave.
Read more
The Chair’s Comments: Welcome to a New Year and a New Blog
Intellectual Property Law SectionPlease allow me to introduce myself as chair of the IP Section, along with our new blog format. We will use this blog to share articles and keep you posted on networking events and other programs that we are planning for the year. If I can get you to do one thing, please mark April 28, 2017 on your calendar when you (and hopefully your family) will be attending our annual section meeting in Wilmington!
About Me
It suits me to write my first Chair’s Comments in the form of a blog post, as I prefer less formal modes of communication. I spent my formative years in Las Vegas and then studied engineering at MIT and UC Berkeley before attending Yale for law school. After law school, I clerked for a federal judge in Reno, NV, the “Biggest Little City in the World,” and practiced patent litigation in San Francisco. I also took full advantage of the outdoor adventures, such as downhill skiing and mountain biking, that abound in the Sierras. My family moved to Durham in 2005. I currently serve as a partner at Brooks Pierce in Raleigh, where my broad IP practice includes licensing, assertion, and white collar defense. I also co-teach the Start-Up Ventures Clinic at Duke Law School.
This Blog
With the support of section leadership, our intrepid editors Lauren Anderson and Michael Morlock decided to embrace the 21st century: We have switched our IP Links newsletter into a blog available to the entire world. This should allow more timely stories delivered in shorter bites, but only if section members generate and share content relevant to our section.
The Year Ahead
Our section has strong leadership in the form of capable officers and dedicated committee chairs. The trademark committee just conducted a seminar about beer law in Asheville. Expect similar, top-notch programs throughout the year. The cornerstone annual CLE will be presented, in collaboration with the Sports and Entertainment Section, in Wilmington on April 28. We need you there. Unless we have good attendance, the Bar Association will encourage us to hold all of our annual meetings at the Bar Center in Cary. More importantly, our section sees real value in spending time getting to know one another. In addition to CLE options, our events will stand out as a way to connect with your colleagues across the state.
I look forward to seeing you at an IP Section event soon!
EEOC Publishes Guidance On Accommodations For Mental Health Conditions And Finalizes New EEO-1 Reporting Form
Labor & Employment LawThe EEOC published two items last week of interest to employment counsel:
First, in the September volume of its Digest of Equal Employment Opportunity Law, the EEOC provided some rare insight into the way it views discrimination on the basis of mental health conditions under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Rehabilitation Act. Although the publication is aimed at government agencies, the guidance details the types of accommodations the EEOC expects of employers for employees or applicants with mental health conditions.
Read more
The Chair’s Comments: New Year, Exciting New Changes Ahead
Paralegal DivisionWelcome everyone to your new Paralegal Division blog! I am Annette Phelps, your new division chair, and I look forward to serving our division over the next year. At the Paralegal Division Council’s annual retreat in July, the council decided to join other NCBA divisions and sections and move to a blog format. While we will certainly miss the nostalgic sense of reading Paralegal Perspectives, our quarterly newsletter, we hope this switch will more quickly deliver content, including more in-depth articles and a wider range of topics of interest. Your feedback is important as we transition to this new format so please feel free to email me directly at [email protected] with your comments and/or concerns about our new blog.
We hope this year will be an exciting time for the division. Our annual meeting is moving to Pinehurst for the next couple of years. Our CPE Committee is working hard to provide a quality program with a wider range of topics that will hopefully reach a wider group of members. Again, your feedback is crucial to the CPE program we offer by way of web casts, live programs, and the annual meeting.
Pro bono opportunities are a big focus this year. In the upcoming months our division will be assisting intakes for the Veterans Pro Bono Network as well as screening and interviewing veterans. We will post more information on available opportunities in our Pro Bono Spotlight.
As a member of the Paralegal Division you have a voice in our division, and I always welcome a chance to hear from you as to what needs you feel are being met or not being met as a member. If you want to become more involved with the division, there are a number of committees you may serve on. You can view these committees through this link: https://www.ncbar.org/media/571643/pd_committee_signup_form.pdf
I look forward to serving this division over the next year and I am extremely excited over the projects and plans for the upcoming year!
Want To See the Future Of Law Practice? Attend a Tech Conference
Featured PostsI recently returned from the Clio Conference in Chicago. Clio is cloud-based practice management software for law firms. But, don’t stop reading this post just because your firm does not use Clio or the cloud. This post is pertinent to you as long as you continue to practice law in 2016.
The Clio Conference offers more than just information on a product. It is a conference on the future of law. Unlike any other legal technology conferences that I have attended, the Clio Conference exposes attendees to technology used in other law firms today (read – your competitors). From AI (artificial intelligence) to online intake processes, and practice specific technology, firms are moving their data online. Today. Clio brings together a wealth of resources under one roof to show you the direction of where your firm should be moving.
Read more
EEOC v. Catastrophe Management Solutions: Title VII Does Not Prohibit Race Discrimination Based On Mutable Characteristics
Labor & Employment LawIn the 50 years since Congress enacted Title VII, scientists, contemporary thinkers, and society in general have reassessed the concept of race. No longer do we view race solely in terms of biology (immutable characteristics). We now understand that race includes social context, culture, and life experiences (mutable characteristics). While society’s understanding of race has changed, Title VII’s original definition — or lack thereof — remains stuck in 1964. Whether a racial characteristic is mutable or immutable matters, as the Court of Appeals for the United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit recently reminded the EEOC: Title VII only protects against discrimination based on immutable characteristics. EEOC v. Catastrophe Mgmt. Solutions, No. 14-13482, 2016 U.S. App. LEXIS 16918 (11th Cir. Sep. 15, 2016).
Read more
The Birds and the Bees and the TLC: What I Wish I’d Known When I Was a YLD Member
Featured PostsBees are fascinating little critters. Their lifespan is only six weeks. In the spring, they gather pollen to store in their hives. As spring blooms into the summer, bees begin gathering nectar to make honey. As the weather becomes cooler in the fall, they gather sap to caulk the cracks in their hives to prepare for winter. The bees of summer were different from the springtime bees who gathered pollen, and the autumn bees know nothing of summertime and have never experienced a winter. How do they know what to do?
We humans are the same way. While we have some insight into our lives looking backward, we have no real understanding of what lies ahead. We can remember childhood when we knew nothing about the birds and the bees. Many of us were grossed out when we first heard about the mechanics of sex from older kids. Surely our parents did not do that. Surely they are not doing it now! We also remember the social awkwardness of adolescence and the angst of our teenage years. Today, as young lawyers, we remember those developmental stages well. Today, struggling with the time and attention demands of balancing our personal and professional lives, starting families and striving to get ahead in our careers, retirement is the last thing on our minds. While we have contemporaries in the financial world urging us to buy insurance products and invest for the future, the eventualities seem remote.
Read more
Knowing When a Bonus Must Be Included In Overtime Pay
Labor & Employment LawEveryone likes a bonus, right? Employees enjoy receiving them, for obvious reasons, and employers use them as a means of rewarding employee achievements and increasing morale. But while paying employees a bonus can seem like a relatively straightforward benefit, depending on how the employer structures the bonus, the bonus can have long-reaching affects by increasing a non-exempt employee’s regular rate of pay for overtime purposes.
Read more
Fourth Circuit Approves Legislative Prayer
Labor & Employment LawBy Will Jamison
On March 4, 1789, the First United States Congress met in Federal Hall in New York City. The air was (probably) thick with dust from the street and powder from their wigs. With the ink still drying on the U.S. Constitution, the actions of that First Congress shed light on how the founders of our nation interpreted the supreme law of the land…that is, according to our U.S. Supreme Court.
Read more
Take a Deep Breath: Five Tips For Dealing With Highly Emotional Clients
Featured PostsEffectively dealing with highly emotional clients can be one of the most difficult aspects of practicing family law. Emotional clients may find it difficult to make rational decisions about their case, causing them to become entrenched in untenable positions. Emotional clients may also be challenging to communicate with effectively, sometimes hearing what they want to hear as opposed to what you are truly saying. Even worse, highly emotional clients may lash out against us or our staff when their anger actually comes from the circumstances they find themselves in, not our representation of them in those circumstances. Because representing highly emotional clients is a nearly unavoidable hazard in our profession, we must all find a way to reach past those emotions to help our clients make sound decisions about their case and future. When dealing with highly emotional clients, keep the following in mind:
Read more