100 Middle Street West Tower, Second Floor
Portland, ME 04101
This presentation provides guidelines for what employers need to know about discrimination, retaliation and Whistleblower laws. Sarah Newell and Ryan Dumais will provide the audience with an overview of federal and state protections and the exceptions. Federal protections covered include: Title VII, Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and Age Discrimination in Employment (ADEA). Maine provisions covered will include the Maine Human Rights Act (MHRA) and Maine Whistleblower Protection Act (MWPA). Sarah and Ryan will also cover the protected classes included in the law for purposes of sex discrimination and race discrimination and the creation of hostile work environments. Sarah and Ryan will challenge you on how you, as an employer, can better protect yourselves and your employees. They will cover ADA, FMLA, Worker’s Compensation, Leave Time, Social media dangers and implications, and most importantly for any employer they will cover the top ¬five strategies for avoiding lawsuits.
Ryan assists clients statewide with a variety of dispute resolution and litigation matters. Ryan’s practice focuses on cases involving real estate disputes including rights associated with easements, licenses, boundary disputes, and restrictive covenant violations. Ryan also has experience with defending disputes involving allegations of employment and housing discrimination. In addition to his work at the trial level, Ryan has a strong appellate practice and has prevailed before the Maine Supreme Judicial Court both on written briefs and following oral argument.
Sarah Newell represents employers in the private, nonprofit and public sectors and her practice is focused on employment and labor law. She assists clients with a broad range of issues including wage & hour, sexual harassment, FMLA, employee discipline and discharge, discrimination, whistleblower actions, collective bargaining, contract administration, labor arbitration, and other employment and labor issues. Sarah also investigates complaints of discrimination for employers, colleges, and universities on a regular basis.