Scholarly Lectures and Writings:

• On the federal front, the U.S. Senate passed a health care reform bill. The Senate bill will now be merged with the House bill. This legislation proposes to implement significant change to our health care system including providing coverage for an additional 31 million Americans, implementing health insurance industry reforms, and reducing Medicare spending by nearly $500 billion., Legislative Affairs Update, Montgomery County Society for Human Resource Management (MCSHRM) Chapter Newsletter
• On the federal front, the U.S. Senate passed a health care reform bill. The Senate bill will now be merged with the House bill. In the meantime, President Barack Obama has unveiled a proposal that would require employers to pay into a fund that would help workers get insurance. This legislation proposes to overhaul the U.S. health care system., Legislative Affairs Update, Montgomery County Society for Human Resource Management (MCSHRM) Chapter Newsletter, 2010
• Healthcare reform is afoot! By way of background, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 3962, the Affordable Health Care for America Act, on November 7, 2009 and the Senate passed H.R. 3590, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, on December 24, 2009. The final bill that will be voted on by Congress in the coming days is a modified version of the Senate-passed legislation, with additional changes., Legislative Affairs Update, Montgomery County Society for Human Resource Management (MCSHRM) Chapter Newsletter, 2010
• On March 23, 2010, President Obama signed into law the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act which was modified by a reconciliation measure on March 26, 2010. This law will implement significant change to our health care system and there are many provisions that affect employers., Legislative Affairs Update, Montgomery County Society for Human Resource Management (MCSHRM) Chapter Newsletter, 2010
• On March 23, 2010, President Obama signed into law the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act which was modified by a reconciliation measure on March 26, 2010. This law implements significant change to our health care system and there are many provisions that affect employers. Below is a discussion of some of them., Legislative Affairs Update, Montgomery County Society for Human Resource Management (MCSHRM) Chapter Newsletter, 2010
• On January 30, 2009, President Obama signed Executive Order 13496. Under the Order and its regulations, federal contractors and subcontractors must notify employees of their rights under the National Labor Relations Act. This law governs relations between unions and employers in the private sector and guarantees employees the right to organize and bargain collectively with their employer, engage in other concerted activity with or without a union, or refrain from all such activity. All government contractors with contracts in excess of $100,000 and subcontractors with contracts in excess of $10,000 must post a notice informing employees of their rights under the law. This new posting requirement took effect on June 21, 2010., Legislative Affairs Update, Montgomery County Society for Human Resource Management (MCSHRM) Chapter Newsletter, 2010
• On March 23, 2010, President Obama signed into law the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (the “Act”). The Act amended the Fair Labor Standards Act and became effective on the date it was signed. The law requires employers to provide non-exempt employees breaks to express breast milk. Such employees must be given reasonable break time during the work day as frequently as needed by the nursing mother. The employees must be given a private place to express breast milk; a bathroom is not sufficient. Such breaks must be given up until the child's first birthday. An employer is not required to compensate an employee for such breaks. All employers are covered by the Act except that employers with less than 50 workers do not have to comply with the law if they can show that such compliance would cause an undue hardship. Undue hardship is defined as significant difficulty or expense when considered in relation to the size, financial resources, nature, and structure of the employer's business., Legislative Affairs Update, 2010
• Business legal issues can be challenging, but family law attorneys may find themselves in unfamiliar territory when faced with “divorcing” a husband- and wife-owned business while in the process of divorcing the couple. Darla McClure and Karen Shapiro will provide insight on the types of documents you need to obtain in discovery, effects on alimony, handling assets titled in the company’s name transfer of ownership issues and concerns, and other possible stumbling blocks for divorcing couples who jointly own a business., Divorcing Husbands, Wives & Businesses, 2010
• The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) requires employers to report the aggregate cost of employer sponsored group health coverage on an employee’s Form W-2 beginning with the 2011 tax year. However, on October 12, 2010, the Internal Revenue Service announced that it will delay the compliance date for this requirement by one year. As a result, employers will have to include this information for the first time on the 2012 W-2s which are issued in 2013. In any event, the W-2 reporting requirement is for informational purposes only and the amounts that are reported will not be taxable., Legislative Affairs Update, Montgomery County Society for Human Resource Management (MCSHRM) Chapter Newsletter, 2010
• This seminar will cover topics such as the hiring process, specifically job descriptions, how to advertise, the application and interview process, offer letters, background checks and drug and alcohol testing; and classifying and paying employees, such as determining exempt vs. non-exempt employees and deductions for exempt employee’s wages, discrimination and the termination process (COBRA, accrued and unused leave, references)., Maryland Society of Accountants - Solo and Small Firm Principal's Retreat, 2010
• On December 17, 2010, President Obama signed into law an $858 billion dollar tax package. The law extends for two years the tax breaks enacted during the presidency of George W. Bush which were set to expire on December 31, 2010. The law also includes a two-year extension of a popular employee tax break for employer-provided tuition assistance. Section 127 of the Internal Revenue Code allows employees to exclude up to $5,250 a year in employer-provided tuition assistance for undergraduate and graduate-level courses. In addition, the legislation extends unemployment benefits for many Americans through 2011. The provision allows long-term unemployed people in the states hardest hit by the recession to receive up to 99 weeks of unemployment benefits, rather than the 26 weeks currently available to them., Legislative Affairs Update, Montgomery County Society for Human Resource Management (MCSHRM) Chapter Newsletter, 2010
• Whistleblowers Get Greater Protection in Maryland The Maryland common law tort of wrongful discharge is limited to terminations that violate a clear mandate of public policy. An employer exposes itself to such a claim when it terminates an employee’s employment because he or she refused to engage in illegal activity, exercised a statutory right or privilege, or fulfilled a statutory obligation. Maryland courts have historically required an employee seeking to establish a wrongful discharge claim to have made a disclosure of his or her employer’s wrongdoing outside of the company, such as to the applicable regulatory authority or to law enforcement. A recent case signals a significant departure from this requirement. On May 13, 2010, in Lark v. Montgomery Hospice, Inc., the Court of Appeals of Maryland indicated that an employee need not make an external disclosure in order to be protected under the Maryland common law tort of wrongful discharge. This finding by the Court was made in dictum, meaning, although it is authoritative, it is not binding. The Court also held in binding opinion that an employee need not make an external disclosure in order to be protected under the Maryland Health Care Worker Whistleblower Act. In light of this case, an employee who makes a report of wrongdoing to his or her supervisor or other person inside the company may be protected under Maryland whistleblower law. Accordingly, prudent employers should consider internal disclosures to be protected activities under both Maryland common law and the Maryland Health Care Worker Whistleblower Act., Legislative Affairs Update, Montgomery County Society for Human Resource Management (MCSHRM) Chapter Newsletter, 2011
• Darla J. McClure and Karen N. Shapiro will provide insight on the types of documents you need to obtain in discovery, effects on alimony, handling assets titled in the company's name, transfer of ownership issues and concerns and other possible hurdles for divorcing couples who jointly own a business., Bar Association of Montgomery County's Family Law Section on Businesses and Divorce, 2011
• Employment claims for discrimination, harassment, wrongful termination of employment and unpaid wages are on the rise. This seminar will explain the steps subcontractors can take to reduce employment-related claims and avoid the time and expense of defending them. Specific topics that will be covered include: Hiring workers (job descriptions, restrictive covenants, differences between employees and contractors); Wage laws (hiring workers as exempt and non-exempt, paying overtime wages); Essential components of employee manuals; Types of discrimination and harassment claims and how to avoid them; and Proper procedures for terminating employees. , Employment Law for Subcontractors, 2011
• On January 24, 2011, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that an employer may be liable under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 for retaliating against a third party who has a “relationship” with an employee who has filed a charge of discrimination. In this case, Miriam Regalado and her fiancée, Eric Thompson, worked for North American Stainless, LP. Ms. Ragalado filed a charge with the EEOC alleging that she was discriminated against because of her sex. A few weeks later, the company fired Mr. Thompson. Mr. Thompson sued the company alleging that he was retaliated against because of Ms. Ragalado’s complaint. The Court concluded that Mr. Thompson falls within the “zone of interest” protected by Title VII and that he is an intended beneficiary of the statute’s anti-retaliation provisions. In identifying the scope of relationships that would likely be entitled to such protection, the Court stated that a family member would almost always be protected and a mere acquaintance would almost never be protected. Clearly this case has important implications for employers. In the wake of a discrimination complaint, employers would be wise not to retaliate against the complaining employee or anyone connected to him or her., Legislative Affairs Update, Montgomery County Society for Human Resource Management (MCSHRM) Chapter Newsletter, 2011
• The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced the availability of the final rule implementing the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act. The final regulations provide nine rules of construction to guide the analysis of what constitutes a disability. Applying these rules of construction, the EEOC provided examples of impairments that should be concluded to be disabilities. The final rule can be found at www.federalregister.gov., Legislative Affairs Update, Montgomery County Society for Human Resource Management (MCSHRM) Chapter Newsletter, 2011
• On March 1, 2011, the U.S. Supreme Court held by unanimous opinion that an employer is liable under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (“USERRA”) when one of its managers discriminates against a worker because of military service and influences an unbiased manager to take an action prohibited by USSERA against the employee., Legislative Affairs Update, Montgomery County Society for Human Resource Management (MCSHRM) Chapter Newsletter, 2011
• Darla J. McClure and Karen N. Shapiro will speak at the Montgomery County Medical Society (MCMS) 2011 Spring Educational Conference.  They will discuss Frequently Asked Questions about employee pay issues as well as recent changes to employment law., MCMS 2011 Spring Educational Conference & Cuatro De Mayo Fiesta, 2011
• Now that the Legislative Session has ended, come learn which new laws will affect human resource professionals as they relate to Business and Employment practices., Employment Law Update and Meet Your Maryland Senator, 2011
• This course covers the functional areas of human resource management and the integration of these functions into an effective and efficient human resource management system., Human Resources in the Accounting Practice Seminar, 2011
• Karen N. Shapiro will speak on topics related to Human Resources in the Accounting Practice. This course covers the functional areas of human resource management and the integration of these functions into an effective and efficient human resource management system., Maryland Society of Accountants seminar, 2011