Presenter: "Leading Interviews," Young Professional Leadership Academy of the Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA), (November 2022)
Author: "How to accommodate Islamic employee prayer breaks," HR Laws (April 2022)
Author: "Workplace Religious Accommodations and Islamic Prayer," Maryland State Bar Association Labor & Employment Newsletter (Winter 2022)
Co-author: "Employees are Requesting Shariah Compliant Investment Options - What Now?," Maryland State Bar Association Labor & Employment Newsletter (Winter 2022)
Co-presenter: "Recent Changes in Federal, Maryland and DC Law," Frederick County Society for Human Resources Management (FCSHRM), Webinar (May 2021)
August 27, 2026 - Articles
On August 21, 2026, the U.S. Department of Labor published three final rules that collectively dismantle or significantly curtail longstanding affirmative action obligations for federal contractors, marking a decisive step in the current administration's broader campaign to overhaul federal equal employment opportunity enforcement.
July 8, 2026 - Articles
On June 30, 2026, the
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced that it has formally withdrawn longstanding guidance documents on the permissible scope of voluntary affirmative action programs under federal law. The EEOC’s Republican majority determined that these guidance materials, some dating back more than four decades, could not be reconciled with the statutory text of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 or with current Supreme Court jurisprudence.
April 3, 2026 - Articles
On March 26, 2026, President Trump signed a new Executive Order titled “Addressing DEI Discrimination by Federal Contractors,” representing a significant escalation in the administration’s campaign against diversity, equity, and inclusion programs. The order requires all federal agencies to include, within 30 days, a new mandatory clause in all contracts and subcontracts under which contractors must agree not to engage in “racially discriminatory DEI activities.”
February 19, 2026 - Articles
On February 6, 2026, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit issued a significant ruling in National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education v. Trump, vacating a preliminary injunction that had blocked key provisions of President Trump's Executive Orders (EOs) targeting diversity, equity, and inclusion programs. In its decision, the three-judge panel concluded that the EOs, which direct federal agencies to terminate "equity-related" grants and contracts and require federal contractors and grant recipients to certify compliance with anti-discrimination laws, are likely constitutional and do not impermissibly chill protected speech. Chief Judge Albert Diaz wrote that "President Trump has decided that equity isn't a priority in his administration and so has directed his subordinates to terminate funding that supports equity-related projects to the maximum extent allowed by law," adding that "[w]hether that's sound policy or not isn't our call."
November 20, 2025 - Articles
In an early October Employment Law Update, we advised that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), Department of Labor (DOL), and National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) had largely ceased operations due to the federal shutdown, with wide-ranging effects on investigations, union elections, and employer-facing services.
September 18, 2025 - Articles
Earlier this month, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) decided to cease its efforts to implement a nationwide prohibition on employer non-compete agreements. This decision followed the agency's decision not to appeal against a nationwide injunction that had stalled the Rule's implementation.
July 18, 2025 - Articles
As of July 1, 2025, Maryland prohibits or restricts non-compete provisions for nearly all healthcare professionals. The prohibition applies to individuals: (1) required to be licensed under the Maryland Health Occupations Article (licensed physicians, nurses, physical therapists, social workers, etc.), (2) who provide “direct patient care,” and (3) who earn less than $350,000 annually.
June 9, 2025 - Articles
On Friday, June 6, 2025, US District Judge Claudia Wilken of the United States District Court, Northern District of California, Oakland Division, finally approved the $2.8 billion settlement agreement arising from Case No. 4:20-cv-03919-CW In re: College Athlete NIL Litigation (“Settlement Agreement”), a class action lawsuit against the NCAA and the Power Five Conferences challenging their rules restricting payments to student-athletes, including payments related to student-athletes names, images, and likenesses (NIL) for commercial purposes. The Settlement Agreement will reshape college sports by allowing universities to pay student-athletes directly starting July 1, 2025, effectively ending the NCAA’s longstanding argument that student-athletes are amateurs and should, therefore, not be paid.
May 22, 2025 - Articles
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (“DOL”) under the Trump administration has doubled down on its commitment to the traditional economic-realities analysis for determining whether workers are employees or independent contractors under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”). Like many issues subject to federal agency interpretation, the analysis surrounding the classification of employees versus independent contractors is subject to the swinging pendulum of who resides in the White House.
March 20, 2025 - Articles
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recently signaled a new focus on protecting American workers from unlawful national origin discrimination by employers who prefer non-American workers, such as “illegal aliens, migrant workers, and visa holders.” In a press release issued on February 19, 2025, EEOC Acting Chair Andrea Lucas vowed to “put employers and other covered entities on notice” and to “rigorously enforce the law” against this type of bias, which she said is “a large-scale problem in multiple industries nationwide.”
January 16, 2025 - Articles
As we usher in the new year, there are several significant employment law changes set to take effect impacting Maryland employers. Here is a detailed look at what you need to know to ensure compliance and stay ahead of the curve.
October 17, 2024 - Articles
Employers who require their employees to stay with them for a certain period of time after receiving company-paid training, education, or other benefits may face legal challenges from the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). On October 7, 2024, the NLRB's General Counsel, Jennifer Abruzzo, issued GC Memorandum 25-01 (the Memo) announcing her intention to prosecute employers who use these "stay or pay" agreements, which she views as similar to unlawful noncompete agreements that restrict employees' mobility and rights.
August 15, 2024 - Articles
Few issues are more sensitive for employers than accommodating employees’ religious practices and observances. In recent years, Muslim employees and their employers have struggled with how to handle the religious requirement to perform obligatory prayers while at work. Few issues are more sensitive for employers than accommodating employees’ religious practices and observances. In recent years, Muslim employees and their employers have struggled with how to handle the religious requirement to perform obligatory prayers while at work.
June 12, 2024 - Articles
On May 23, 2024, the NCAA and the Power 5 conferences announced a $2.8 billion settlement that was reached in several antitrust class action lawsuits concerning payment for college athletes. The settlement marked a watershed moment, effectively sounding the death knell of “amateurism,” the longstanding argument by the NCAA for why college athletes should not be paid in Division I college sports.
April 18, 2024 - Articles
On April 15, 2024, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) published its Final Rule to implement the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (“PWFA”). The primary impact of the new law is that under the PWFA, employers of 15 employees or more are required to make affirmative efforts to accommodate a pregnant employee, not merely agree not to discriminate. The PWFA became law on June 27, 2023, but the requirements are not expected to take effect until June 2024 following the implementation of the Finale Rule.
February 13, 2024 - Articles
On February 5, 2024, the NLRB ruled that Dartmouth University’s Men’s Basketball team players are employees of the school, within the meaning of the National Labor Relations Act, clearing the way for an election that may result in the first-ever certified labor union for NCAA athletes.
December 6, 2023 - Articles
Non-compete agreements have been the subject of much discussion and scrutiny across the country. While some states and federal agencies push for prohibition of these types of restrictive covenants altogether, Maryland and New York continue their trends of narrowing the class of workers who may be lawfully subjected to a non-compete. Non-Compete Agreements have been the subject of much discussion and scrutiny across the country. While some states and federal agencies push for prohibition of these types of restrictive covenants altogether, Maryland and New York continue their trends of narrowing the class of workers who may be lawfully subjected to a non-compete.
December 6, 2023 - Presentations
This webinar discusses what certain states and federal agencies are doing to attempt to limit or prohibit the use of non-competes and practical considerations for employers in light of these recent developments.
February 24, 2023 - Articles
On February 22nd, the Supreme Court ruled that an executive or managerial employee otherwise qualified to be overtime exempt, lost that exemption if paid on a daily rate basis.
As background, highly compensated employees, those identified as “Executive” or “Administrative” under the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”), can be overtime exempt if performing certain high level functions, and if paid on a “salaried basis.” At issue, the U.S. Supreme Court addressed whether an individual, otherwise entitled to exempt status, loses that status if paid on a daily pay basis – that is whether daily paid individuals are receiving a “salary.”
January 11, 2023 - Articles
On January 5, 2023, The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) proposed a new rule that would ban essentially all non-compete agreements that employers impose on their workers. The notice of proposed rulemaking would deem any non-compete clauses with paid staff and independent contractors, as well as unpaid workers, to be an unfair method of competition that must be rescinded and that employers must tell current and former employees they've stopped enforcement.
January 5, 2023 - Articles
On December 15, 2022, The National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) handed down a finding of merit in Case 31-CA-290326 brought by the National College Players Association (“NCPA”) on behalf of men’s and women’s basketball and football players that charged the University of Southern California (“USC”), the PAC-12 Conference (“PAC-12”) and the National Collegiate Athletics Association (“NCAA”) with an unfair labor practice, alleging they had systematically misclassified players as “student-athlete” nonemployees instead of employees to prevent the athletes from realizing their rights under the National Labor Relations Act.
October 13, 2022 - Articles
After nearly two years, the Ban on Non-Compete Agreements Act of 2020 has finally taken effect in Washington, D.C.
May 20, 2022 - Articles
The Time to Care Act of 2022 specifies that the Maryland Department of Labor must adopt regulations to implement the bill by June 1, 2023, which includes establishing a paid leave fund that collects contributions from employers and employees based on wages.
December 20, 2021 - Articles
The Sixth Circuit lifted the stay on OSHA’s vaccine or test mandate for employers with 100 or more employees. The Fifth Circuit stayed the mandate pending a review of whether the coronavirus presented a “grave danger” necessitating such sweeping federal action a day after the rules were published. With the stay lifted, employers are left revisiting the requirements of the mandate.
October 11, 2021 - Articles
Being a government contractor is hard; the rules are complex, and the penalties for non-compliance can be harsh. So, when the President of the United States tells the world that there will be a vaccine mandate for U.S. government contractors, contractors might have some questions.
June 23, 2021 - Articles
Few issues are more sensitive for employers than accommodating employees’ religious practices and observances. In recent years, Muslim employees and their employers have struggled with how to handle the religious requirement to perform obligatory prayers while at work.
June 2, 2021 - Articles
In the close geographic quarters of the District of Columbia, non-compete agreements were a common tool for employers seeking to protect their business from former employees going to work for competitors. Now, employees cannot be bound by such covenants not to compete, and are generally free to take up shop with the competitor across the street. This new law will inevitably change the landscape of DC employment practices.
June 2, 2021 - Newsletters
American Rescue Plan Act: Voluntary vs. Required Provisions
Standard Lessened for Actionable Claims of Harassment in Montgomery County
Virginia’s Legislative Update Affecting Employers
D.C. Bans Non-Compete Agreements
